Shahid Tantray, The Caravan, Journalist accuses J&K Police of harassment following his stories
Jammu and Kashmir Police issue a statement on Twitter saying they have received a complaint from many prominent persons against the journalist for his article
Kashmir journalist working with ‘The Caravan’, Shahid Tantray on Wednesday accused the Jammu and Kashmir Police of consistently harassing him and his family since the publication of his two stories in the magazine in February and June. However, the police said that they have received a complaint about his latest story “False Flags”, which names people in a “mischievous manner”.
The Caravan issued a statement on Twitter by their multimedia reporter, Shahid Tantray, which it said has been sent to the Indian and international press bodies.
“Tantray, who hails from Kashmir, has been working with The Caravan since 2016. In January 2022, he was in Srinagar to report stories commissioned by the editors of The Caravan on the crackdown on journalists in Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370 as well as the army’s presence and role in the region. His pieces were published on February 1 and June 1, respectively. He and his family have been facing continued harassment by the Jammu and Kashmir Police,” the magazine said.
While the first story was on the state of press freedom in Kashmir, the second story which was published on June 1 titled “False Flags” was on the army’s alleged “secretive role” in the “hyper-nationalist” protests in the region.
In the statement, Tantray said that police started visiting his house a week before his first story on the media crackdown was published on February 1 for which he said he was working for eight months.
He said after the publication of the first story, he was questioned by police officers at Rangreth Police Post where he was asked to come.
He said after his second story was published when he was in Delhi, the police started calling his father to know his whereabouts. He claimed that he got no response from police despite him and his organisation asking whether a formal complaint or FIR was pending against him or if they required him to join an investigation, that they kindly issue him an appropriate notice under Section 41A of CrPC.
“From the statement of the above facts it is clear that between my first story on the crackdown on the freedom of the press in Kashmir and the second story on the army’s role in nationalistic protests in Kashmir, my family and I have been consistently harassed by the police,” he alleged.
The police also issued a statement on Twitter saying that they have received a complaint from many prominent persons against Shahid Tantray for his article “False Flags” in Caravan.
“It is alleged that the article names them in a mischievous manner which is akin to giving targets to terror groups and putting them in danger. In the past, many prominent personalities like Shujaat Bukhari have been targeted and killed due to similar articles focused on certain personalities in blogs like Kashmir Fight, etc. An inquiry into the allegations and reasons for naming these persons has been started,” the police said in a series of tweets.
