Dinesh Gundu Rao condemns raids on NewsClick, says it reflect authoritarian attitude of Centre
Bengaluru: Karnataka's Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dinesh Gundu Rao, has strongly criticized the recent raid on the premises of NewsClick, an online media portal, by the Delhi Police's Special Cell.
The raid, which took place on Tuesday, involved searches at 30 locations, including the houses of journalists associated with the news platform. This action has sparked widespread outrage among journalists, media organizations, and political leaders.
Expressing his concerns, Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao took to his personal social media account, stating, "The Delhi Police raid on the premises of NewsClick shows the authoritarian attitude of the Centre, which openly expressed such irritation towards NewsClick for reporting about the CAA riots and during the farmers' protest against the farm bills and analyzing the shortcomings of the Central government."
He further highlighted that the Centre's use of investigative agencies, such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Income Tax Department, had previously been limited to political rivals. However, he pointed out that these agencies were now being employed against media houses that criticize the government.
Rao emphasized that the Centre's actions were an attempt to silence news organizations that dared to reveal the truth about its shortcomings. He suggested that these systematic attacks on media agencies, including NewsClick, were escalating as elections drew nearer.
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Bridge portion collapses on Jammu outskirts; 3-4 labourers feared trapped, 1 rescued
Jammu (PTI): A portion of a small bridge collapsed in the Bantalab area on the outskirts of Jammu city on Friday, trapping at least three to four labourers under the debris, while one injured worker was rescued, official sources said.
Authorities have closed the road link following the collapse of the portion of the bridge.
The incident occurred when labourers were carrying out repair work on a retaining wall near the bridge that was damaged in last year's flash floods, the sources said.
According to the sources, a section of the bridge suddenly gave way, burying workers engaged at the site under the rubble.
Police, Army and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams launched rescue operations to extricate those buried under the debris. They pulled out one injured labourer and shifted him to a hospital, the sources said.
Family members of the labourers present at the site said around six workers engaged at the site at the time of the incident came under the debris when the structure collapsed. The family members said while two of the labourers managed to escape, four got trapped.
The sources said those trapped included the husband of a woman labourer, a mason, an unmarried labourer and a relative of the contractor.
There was no official confirmation on the exact number of persons trapped under the debris till the filing of this report.
The rescue operations are ongoing.
