In a surprising turn of events, the Kochi City Police have been criticized for their actions in implicating Akhila Nandakumar, the chief reporter of Asianet News, in a conspiracy case related to the Maharajas College mark list controversy. The complaint filed by SFI State Secretary PM Arsho was seemingly taken at face value, with accusations made against Akhila without a proper preliminary investigation being conducted. The police filed an FIR based on the allegations made by KSU leaders against Arsho, during Akhila’s live reporting on the forgery case involving Vidya at Maharajas College.
The case involves four individuals as the accused, namely Maharajas College Principal V S Joy, Dr. Methavi from the Department of Archeology, Vinod Kumar, and KSU leaders Aloysius Xavier and Fazil. Akhila and her cameraman visited the college campus on the 6th to gather details about the forgery case involving former SFI leader Vidya. During the live news coverage at 11 am, Akhila sought details from the principal, the Malayalam section teacher, and student representatives regarding the forgery incident. It was during this interaction that one of the student representatives raised the issue of Arsho’s mark list controversy, implying that it was more significant than the ongoing forgery case.
Considering this turn of events, PM Arsho perceived it as a conspiracy against him and approached the police with a complaint. Based on his complaint, the Kochi Central Police registered a case against Akhila Nandakumar, the chief reporter of Asianet News. The police have accused her of conspiracy, despite her journalistic efforts to gather information and report it to the public. It is noteworthy that the police acted swiftly to register the case and initiated an investigation with a special investigation team, while failing to locate the accused Vidya in the forgery case.
This series of events has raised concerns about the fairness and objectivity of the police’s actions in this case. Many have questioned the haste with which the complaint was registered and the subsequent charges brought against a journalist simply for performing her professional duties. The actions of the police have garnered criticism for seemingly suppressing freedom of the press and raising doubts about their impartiality.
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