Journalists protest against unwarranted complaints by NGO

A protest rally was taken out by journalists here on Tuesday noon, condemning unwarranted police complaints lodged against a reporter by Shramik Elgaar, a local NGO which spearheads a movement for liquor ban in the district.
The journalists demanded that the Maharashtra government enact a law to protect journalists.
It may be recalled that a reporter from Saoli tehsil in the district had published a news analysis in a regional Marathi daily recently, disputing the tall promises made by Paromita Goswami, the founder president of Shramik Elgaar, that her 25,000 volunteers would not allow the sale of illegal liquor in the district.

The reporter had highlighted a large number of cases pertaining to illegal sale of liquor followed by police action in the recent past, reminding Goswami of her false promises and tall claims.
Irked by the news report, Goswami and her volunteers had filed police complaints in as many as six different police stations in the district, compelling the police to register a non-cognisable offence against the reporter, the district correspondent and the editor of the Marathi daily.
After the development, various unions of journalists in the district took the issue seriously and passed a resolution condemning Shramik Elgaar's act, terming it as an attempt to curb freedom of the press.

Accordingly, a meeting was convened by Chandrapur Working Journalists' Union (CWJU) with other unions on Sunday and a decision was taken to condemn the highhanded approach of Shramik Elgaar by taking out a silent protest rally to the collectorate on Tuesday.