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The Mumbai police has filed an FIR against the editor-in-chief of a Marathi news channel for allegedly transmitting sexually-explicit video of senior BJP leader and former MP Kirit Somaiya - a development that snowballed into a political issue with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi training guns on the Eknath Shinde-led BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP dispensation.
The Mumbai police filed the FIR against Kamlesh Sutar, editor-in-chief of Lokshahi news channel, and media person Anil Thatte, who runs a YouTube channel.
“The police have filed an FIR against me. Have cooperated with the police so far and would continue to do so. We would continue to raise issues of the people and important questions,” Sutar tweeted.
Sutar and Thatte have been booked under Indian Penal Code section 500 (defamation) and sections 66E (violation of privacy) and 67A (transmission of material containing sexually explicit acts in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act.
In July, the channel aired the video after which the Shinde-government had initiated a probe.
Somaiya is a former one-time MLA from Mulund in Mumbai and two-term MP from Mumbai North-East seat and currently the Vice President of BJP-Maharashtra. Over the years, he had been a whistle-blower and exposed several scams involving politicians and businesspersons.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar of the Congress said that the BJP expects to write good things about them. “Is it expected by the state government that journalists will only sing praises of BJP? It is the BJP's bullying,” he said.
NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said: “Authorities took quick action against the journalist in the issue related to Somaiya. They should have shown the same diligence and inquired about all issues of corruption raised by Somaiya against the now supporters of BJP.”
Several journalists have condemned the FIR against Sutar.