
Journalists are being allegedly harassed by the all-women Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigating the Anna University sexual harassment case.
The Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted following the orders of the Madras High Court to probe the incident, where a student of Anna University was sexually assaulted on campus.
A person identified as Gnanasekharan, who runs a roadside eatery, was arrested by the police in connection with the case.
The police have come under fire for revealing the identity of the rape survivor, following what they claim was a 'technical glitch.' Even though the police is to be blamed for revealing the survivor's identity, it has been training its guns at the journalists.
On Monday, the SIT summoned 15 media persons for questioning. Already, 14 mobile phones of journalists have been seized, a journalist said on condition of anonymity.
The media and the opposition parties have condemned the harassment of journalists in connection with alleged leakage of information relating to the survivor.
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday claimed, according to The Hindu, that it was the State government's mistake that the FIR in the sexual assault case got leaked.
"What is the necessity in seizing the mobile phones of journalists?," he questioned.
He demanded that the investigation into the case be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). "Only a proper investigation by the CBI, without any intervention by the State government, could ensure justice for the affected woman," he added.
AMMK founder TTV Dinakaran also criticised the State government and the SIT over the seizure of mobile phones of journalists in connection with the leakage of survivor's identity.
On Saturday, members of the Chennai Press Club (CPC) along with senior journalists, held a protest in Chennai accusing the SIT of "intimidating" reporters covering the Anna University rape, by unlawfully seizing their personal mobile phones.
The Editors Guild of India has also expressed concern over reports that Chennai police has seized electronic devices of several journalists, as part of investigation into a sexual assault of a student at the Anna University campus in Chennai.
A press statement issued by the EGI said that as per reports, the First Information Report (FIR) was available on a government website, and some journalists had downloaded the report in pursuit of professional work.
"While the Guild adheres to the principle and the law that media cannot divulge any personal details of a victim of a sexual assault, we are also concerned by the manner in which investigation against journalists is being conducted by the Chennai police," the statement read.
The statement further said, "It has come to our notice that summons were sent to journalists via WhatsApp, which the Supreme Court has ruled is an invalid means of serving legal notices. Furthermore, the journalists have claimed that the questioning was intrusive."
The Guild demanded the Chennai police to immediately return all the devices of journalists and to conduct the investigation in a manner not prejudicial to rights of journalists and press freedom.
A journalist told TNIE that those who were summoned by the police were made to wait for hours in the name of questioning.
Even during questioning, no relevant questions relating to the case were asked to the media persons, instead questions like the wealth, marital status, profession of the spouse etc., were asked by the police.
The Madras High Court on December 27, 2024 had come down heavily on the police for mishandling the case and leaking details of the survivor.
However, the Supreme Court on Monday, January 27, stayed the Madras High Court direction ordering departmental enquiry against Tamil Nadu police over the leak of FIR in the case, while allowing the special investigation team (SIT) to continue its probe.
A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma, hearing a state petition seeking the removal of adverse remarks against the police, also stayed all critical comments made by the High Court about the state police in its interim order, as reported by The News Minute.
The journalist pointed out that, on one hand, there are BJP leaders like K Annamalai who are going overboard on social media by mixing facts and falsehoods about the case, and on the other hand, there is a section of the media that fails to think twice before over-reporting sensitive information about the case.