Delhi cop reaches The Wire office for ‘I-Day routine check’, editor calls it ‘strange’
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New Delhi: Journalist Siddharth Varadarajan Friday said the Delhi office of The Wire, which he cofounded, was visited by a Delhi Police constable who sought to make inquiries about certain journalists working with the news website.
He described the visit, which reportedly lasted 18-20 minutes, as “strange”, writing in a Twitter post that the policeman also asked to see the rent agreement for the premises. The Delhi Police acknowledged the visit, but described it as a “routine check” conducted in the run-up to Independence Day on 15 August. The office, Delhi Police said, didn’t have a signboard, a claim denied by Varadarajan.
The visit of the policeman of Delhi Police came as The Wire, as part of a global media consortium, releases reports about alleged snooping targets under the ongoing Pegasus Project expose.
In his tweet, Varadarajan said the policeman questioned the staff present on the premises about journalist Vinod Dua, who has been a contributor for the website, and journalist Afra Khanum Sherwani, as well as actor Swara Bhasker, a vocal critic of the Modi government. Inquiries were also made about a person named Asif Khan, with the policeman mumbling about some “Kanpur case”, Varadarajan told ThePrint, describing the questions as “inane”.
Replying to Varadarajan’s post, the Delhi Police said the local beat officer had gone to the office for a check as “it did not bear any signboard at the entrance”.
“In the run-up to Independence Day, security and anti-terrorist measures such as tenant verification, checking of guest houses etc., are being taken throughout Delhi,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) New Delhi Deepak Yadav said, alongside a photograph.
Varadarajan, however, told ThePrint that the DCP’s response “doesn’t square with some of the questions that constable Mahesh was asking”.
He also refuted the police’s claim that there was no signboard at the entrance. “The sign — ‘Office for rent’ — is for the other half of the building that is locked. Once you enter the building, The Wire is written at the entrance,” he said.
“If the beat cop had visited for a routine check, why was he enquiring about Swara Bhasker and all? Police’s explanation and the constable’s questions don’t add up. This office has been here for the last four years and officers from the Mandir Marg Police Station have visited us several times earlier on various occasions,” Varadarajan said.
On Twitter, Sherwani, a senior editor with The Wire, said that she spoke to the constable over the phone after a colleague called her up on “beat officer Mahesh’s insistence”.
Sherwani also posted the purported transcript of her conversation with constable Mahesh.
Varadarajan added that he couldn’t exactly understand the purpose of the visit.
Reached for a comment via phone call and text message, DCP Yadav reiterated that the purpose of the visit was for a routine check.
“Such routine checks have been going on in all districts,” a senior police officer, on the condition of anonymity, told ThePrint.
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Cong leader Prithviraj Chavan defiant after facing verbal missiles on Op Sindoor remarks
Mumbai (PTI): Despite facing criticism, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday stood by his controversial comments that India faced a "total defeat" in aerial fight with Pakistan on the first day of Operation Sindoor on May 7.
The former Union minister refused to apologise for his comments on the Indian military operation against terror hubs in Pakistan and PoK in aftermath of massacre of tourists at Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir in April.
Talking to reporters in Pune on Tuesday, Chavan claimed India faced a "total defeat in the aerial fight (with Pakistan) on May 7 which lasted for half-an-hour".
"One may believe this or not. After that the Indian Air Force got grounded and not a single aircraft took flight that day.... be it Gwalior, Bhatinda or Sirsa, there was a possibility of aircraft being shot down, so our complete Air Force was grounded," the former Maharashtra chief minister had said.
Hitting out at Chavan, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde accused the Congress of speaking the language of Pakistan. He said questioning the military action was akin to demoralising the morale of armed forces.
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"The criticism does not stem from the love of the nation, but love for Pakistan," said the chief leader of the Shiv Sena, a key constituent of the BJP-led NDA.
Chavan, however, remained defiant.
"There is no question of apologising. The Constitution has given me the right to ask questions," the Congress veteran asserted.
Chavan also questioned the need of having a 12-lakh strong Army when future wars will be about aerial combats and missiles. "During Operation Sindoor we saw that there was no movement of the Army even for a kilometre," he had said.
BJP Lok Sabha MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said Chavan's remarks are loaded with sedition.
"He (Chavan) has refused to apologise. The Indian armed forces struck 100 kms inside the Pakistan territory and destroyed 11 air strips (of the Pakistani Air Force). He made remarks that the Indian Army did not even move an inch (during the military operation). This is nothing but a statement full of sedition, a statement of a traitor," Patra said, lashing out at the Congress leader.
The BJP spokesperson maintained the Congress appears to be standing with Chavan and alleged the Opposition party is playing into foreign hands.
Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should apologise for it, he added.
Union minister Giriraj Singh of the BJP insisted it was not right to devalue the valour of Indian armed forces.
Samajwadi Party MP Virendra Singh suggested that wherever armed forces are concerned, every Indian should be mindful of statements they make and ensure their comments do not demoralise the military.
Operation Sindoor was a result of "mistakes of politicians", he claimed.
TDP MP Krishna Devraylu said after the poll defeat in Bihar, the Congress is rattled and their leaders have been talking absurdly.
"Chavan's remarks are a prime example of this. This kind of disrespect to our armed forces is not necessary. If the Congress is angry with the NDA, it should show it in a different way and not drag armed forces into it," Devraylu opined.
AAP MP Ashok Mittal said such statements should not be made by any senior politician, especially by someone who has been a former chief minister.
The Indian armed forces registered a strong victory and destroyed terror launchpads in Pakistan during Operation Sindoor, Mittal added.
