Media organisations on Thursday expressed concern over the arrest and 10-day custody of senior journalist Mahesh Langa by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, emphasising his interrogation as “procedural overreach.”
In a joint statement, the Press Club of India, Delhi Union of Journalists, Indian Women’s Press Corps, and Press Association said that his questioning might be a form of harassment, especially as his name is not mentioned in the primary FIR.
Langa, Senior Assistant Editor of The Hindu, was arrested for his alleged involvement in a Rs 50,000 GST evasion case.
“He is a well-known and fearless journalist with a career of employment in many reputed publications. His reports on developments related to Gujarat have been widely appreciated,” the statement read.
The organisations pointed out that, according to available details, Langa is neither a director nor a promoter of the company, DA Enterprise, mentioned in the FIR, which was filed by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence Unit, Ahmedabad.
They stated that ‘no transactions or signatures were found in his name’.
“While the law must be allowed to take its own course, we believe that the custodial interrogation of Mahesh Langa is a procedural overreach and appears to be a means of harassing an individual whose name doesn’t even feature in the primary FIR,” the media groups said.
The Ahmedabad Crime Branch arrested Langa on Tuesday morning. On Monday, the city’s Crime Branch registered an FIR against several individuals and entities after receiving a complaint from central GST authorities about an alleged scam involving shell companies, set up to defraud the government through bogus input tax credits and fraudulent transactions.
“Although it is crucial to get to the bottom of this matter, due process should not be compromised, and accused persons should not be unduly harassed under the pretext of extended custodial interrogation,” it noted.
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