A Madhyamam journalist has reportedly been told by the Kerala police to produce his mobile phone. This is part of an investigation into his report, which had cited a “highly secret” document to point to an alleged leak of data of job aspirants at the state public service commission.
According to The Indian Express, a probe was launched after a complaint from Kerala Public Service Commission secretary Saju George about the report that was published on July 28.
Madhyamam chief editor O Abdurahiman reportedly said the newspaper would deal with the police action legally. Meanwhile, the Kerala Union of Working Journalists on Tuesday took out protest marches to police offices.
The crime branch had earlier served notices to the editor of Madhyamam and Aniru Asokan, a reporter in Thiruvananthapuram. It questioned Aniru Asokan and later issued a notice asking the newspaper for details on how the document was accessed, according to the Indian Express. The notice was served under BNSS section 94 on December 19. On December 21, the reporter, Asokan, was served another notice, asking him to produce his mobile phone before the investigating officer within two days.
Meanwhile, in an order that could impact cases related to seizure of devices, the Supreme Court has ordered the Enforcement Directorate from accessing and copying content from devices seized during searches conducted on “lottery king” Santiago Martin, his relatives and employees in November. The order that was passed on December 13 also said the Future Gaming case can be heard with connected cases, including the Newsclick case, in which the petitioners are seeking guidelines from the Supreme Court on seizure of laptops and telephones by Delhi Police in 2023.
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