Ghaziabad Police blocks journalist, fact-checker Pratik Sinha on Twitter; Users ask 'Why?'
New Delhi: Senior Journalist and co-founder of popular fact-checking news portal Alt News, Pratik Sinha on Tuesday claimed that he was blocked by Ghaziabad Police on micro-blogging site Twitter from its official handle.
Pratik on Monday shared a screenshot of Ghaziabad Police’s official handle which showed that he was blocked by Ghaziabad Police and cannot follow or interact with them on Twitter.
In the tweet, Pratik asked the Ghaziabad Police by tagging them in the tweet as why he was blocked on their account. “Hello @GhaziabadPolice, why this?” Pratik wrote.
Ghaziabad Police police received sharp criticism for their act of blocking a noted journalist. Users questioned the police department as who and what orders was Pratik blocked from the public account of Ghaziabad Police.
“It should be illegal for government agencies, politicians and government employees to block citizens in social media. This is like refusing to listen to the public. They are living on our Taxes.. (SIC)” a user wrote in the comment section of Pratik’s tweet.
“Gaziabad police twitter acc is not a personal account, rather a public account and the person operating the account can't block anyone without any specific reason” another user wrote.
It is not clear as why the Ghaziabad Police has blocked Pratik from their Twitter handle as the department has not issued any official statement or tweet in this regard. Pratik was unavailable for an immediate comment on the matter.
Hello @ghaziabadpolice, why this? pic.twitter.com/zfIIM2rbkw
— Pratik Sinha (@free_thinker) June 15, 2021
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Fake, completely fabricated: MEA on report claiming 'secret memo' targeting Sikh separatists
New Delhi, Dec 11: India has described as "fake" and "completely fabricated" a media report claiming that a "secret memo" was issued by New Delhi in April to take "concrete" measures against certain Sikh separatists, including Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Sunday that the report is part of a "sustained disinformation campaign" against India and the outlet that published it is known for propagating "fake narratives" peddled by Pakistani intelligence.
The report was published by online American media outlet "The Intercept".
"We strongly assert that such reports are fake and completely fabricated. There is no such memo," Bagchi said.
"This is part of a sustained disinformation campaign against India. The outlet in question is known for propagating fake narratives peddled by Pakistani intelligence. The posts of the authors confirm this linkage," he added.
"Those who amplify such fake news do so only at the cost of their own credibility," Bagchi said, responding to media queries on the report.
In September, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau levelled the allegation of "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Khalistani extremist Nijjar on Canadian soil on June 18.
India strongly dismissed the charges, terming them "absurd".
"The Intercept", in its report, claimed that the Indian government issued instructions on a "crackdown scheme" against certain Sikh entities in western countries.
It further claimed that the secret memorandum issued by the MEA in April lists several "Sikh dissidents under investigation by India's intelligence agencies, including the Canadian citizen, Hardeep Singh Nijjar".
