Yet another scapegoat

The journalistic community, by and large, does not seem to have bought the explanations given out by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police for the arrest of Urdu journalist Syed Mohammed Kazmi. Arrested suddenly from his residence on the charge of having been involved in the bombing of the vehicle carrying an Israeli diplomat in Delhi recently, Kazmi was taken in under the draconian Prevention of Unlawful Activities Act that denies him bail and keeps him in police custody for 20 days.

Several demonstrations and press conferences were held by journalists and activists in the Capital demanding the release of Kazmi on bail, and warning the Police and the authorities not to subject him to the torture and harassment that the Special Cell has become so associated with. Journalists reminded each other about the similar plight of Kashmiri journalist Iftikhar Geelani, a prominent scribe in Delhi, who was arrested on the charge of ‘terrorism’ and after eight harrowing months in jail, released without a single charge against him being proved in the courts of law.

The Delhi police now claims that Kazmi took one of the Iranian operatives around the Israeli embassy in Delhi on a reconnaissance mission. The story seems so feeble that it has few takers in the capital, with senior journalists pointing out that the arrest is part of a larger plan to prevent scribes from writing on the West Asian region by bringing pressure on the Urdu and other regional media not to drift away from the propaganda line being touted by Israel and the United States. Senior journalist Saeed Naqvi spoke of this conspiracy, pointing out that the intention was to prevent the ‘truth’ about the region from being printed in the newspapers here, with the arrest giving a clear signal that journalists writing on the geo-politics of the region should watch their back.

Significantly the courts have also taken note of Kazmi’s arrest and his complaint that he was being interrogated by multiple agencies, including the Delhi Police and Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav has sought the official register of the officers questioning Kazmi. Unfortunately, instead of reporting the entire controversy in perspective, several newspapers and television channels continue to indulge in totally biased reporting, dropping basic journalistic norms in the process. For instance the words “alleged” and “claimed” do not figure in the reportage with Kazmi’s side of the story appearing in some newspapers after the protest meetings by working journalists and activists. It took the Magistrate to point out that Kazmi “is a human being and not a chattel or property.”