Chhattisgarh: 2 Cong MLAs deny allegations in news report, journos arrested

Two journalists working for a web portal here in

Chhattisgarh were arrested on the charge of extortion on the complaint of two MLAs of Congress who alleged that the accused duo had published a "misleading and baseless" targetting them, police said on Tuesday.

In their complaint to police, MLAs Brihaspat Singh and Kuldeep Juneja alleged the accused duo, identified as Madhukar Dubey and his assistant Avinash Palliwar, had published a misleading and baseless report on their news portal on October 24 in a bid to extort from the legislators, an officer said.

The journalists were arrested on Monday, said Civil Lines police station house officer (SHO) Satyaprakash Tiwari.

Police have registered a case under sections 189 (threat of injury to public servant), 384 (extortion), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), 505(1)(b) (with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public, or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or the public tranquility) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), he added.