Jaipur police have arrested two journalists from Bhopal in connection with a case of alleged blackmail against Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari. The accused, Anand Pandey and Harish Divekar, who run a web portal and YouTube channel called 'The Sutra,' are accused of publishing false news and demanding 5 crore rupees to remove the articles and stop future publications. Following initial questioning, both journalists were released and have been summoned again in five days.
Conspiracy to Defame
Police Commissioner Biju George Joseph stated that a complaint was filed on September 28 by Narendra Singh Rathore, a resident of Civil Lines, at the Cyber Crime Police Station. According to the complaint, 'The Sutra' web portal and YouTube channel had been running false and misleading news for some time with the intention of defaming Deputy CM Diya Kumari. More than a dozen baseless and factually incorrect reports had been broadcast over the past month.
Demand for 5 Crores and Threats
The complainant alleged that when he contacted Anand Pandey, head of 'The Sutra,' and Harish Divekar, its coordinator, regarding the removal of these articles, they demanded 5 crore rupees to take down the news and refrain from publishing similar content in the future, while they reportedly claimed to have received a large sum for running these stories and that a higher amount would be required to have them removed. The accused also allegedly threatened that if the money wasn't paid, such news would continue, and Diya Kumari's political image would be destroyed.
Investigation Underway
The report further indicated that these false stories from 'The Sutra' were also published on a related web portal, 'The Capital, while ' Jinesh Jain, who manages 'The Sutra' operations in Rajasthan, is also implicated for allegedly running these stories at the behest of Pandey and Divekar. Arvind Rawat has also been indirectly accused of complicity. After a thorough investigation, Jaipur police arrested Anand Pandey and Harish Divekar. Police anticipate that further questioning will reveal the involvement of other individuals in this alleged syndicate.
