THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kochi city police on Monday midnight raided the office of the news portal Marunadan Malayali at Pattom in Thiruvananthapuram and seized electronic gadgets, including laptops and computers. As many as 29 computers, laptops and cameras were seized. The office was sealed and staff were instructed not to enter inside.
The raid was part of the statewide manhunt for Shajan Skariah, editor of Marunadan Malayali, who has been booked by the Kochi police under the SC/ST Atrocities Act and other charges on the complaint of Kunnathunad MLA P V Sreenijin. Sreenijin had earlier filed a defamation complaint against the portal and Sajan for running stories that he alleged were scurrilous in nature.
Apart from the raid on the office, the police also raided the houses of two of the portal’s staff in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) condemned the raids on the houses of journalists, including women, working with Marunadan Malayali. Such action is unheard of in the state, read a KUWJ statement.
It said if there’s a case against Marunadan Malayali and Shajan Skariah, probe should be carried out and culprits brought to book. “The union does not in agree with the kind of journalism practised by Marunadan Malayali. However, conducting raids on houses of journalists in the name of a case against the owner of a media establishment is highly condemnable,” said KUWJ state president M V Vineetha and general secretary R Kiran Babu.