Scribes from Kerala who interviewed relatives of those killed in the December 19 police firing in Mangaluru during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act were detained by the law enforcers on Friday, leading to protests in Kerala.
The issue echoed at the highest level in the two states, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan taking up the matter with his Karnataka counterpart B S Yediyurappa.
Eight journalists and camera crew of Kerala-based TV channels, who had interviewed relatives of those killed in the December 19 police firing during protests against CAA were released seven hours after being detained by police in front of the Government Wenlock hospital in Mangaluru on Friday, sources said.
Criticising the detention of their colleagues,scribes in Kerala staged protest rallies in various places under the banner of the Kerala Union of Working Journalists (KUWJ) and district press clubs.
Vijayan condemned the police action and said the onslaught on media freedom was a "fascist mindset."
He also took up the matter with Yeddiyurappa by way of a letter,even as the journalists were released later in the day.
In his letter, Vijayan drew Yediyurappa's attention to the "unfortunate incident" in which mediapersons on duty were restrained by police authorities in Mangaluru.
"Journalists from Kerala are also part of the media contingent whose movements have been restricted...
The Government of Kerala expresses its deep concern at this turn of events," he said and sought Yeddiyurappa's intervention in the matter.
Soon after their release, Yediyurappa told reporters in Bengaluru that police had questioned some people in the backdrop of the violence in Mangaluru and on coming to know they were reporters, were escorted till the Kerala border.
He described as far from the truth, reports that 30 to 40 journalists had been detained.
Karnataka Home Minister Baswaraj Bhomai in Bengaluru blamed the violence in the city on groups from Kerala.
Journalists from News 24, Media One, Asianet, News 18 and Mathrubhumi were prevented from reporting in Mangaluru, taken into custody and kept in a van for three hours after which they were taken to Mangaluru south police station, the sources said.
Cameras and mobile phones seized from them were returned after they were taken to the border town of Thalappady.
A top police official told the scribes that only those with Karnataka accreditation should report from there.
"No, that is not accreditation. Not government-issued. Out!," he told them.
The news channels had interviewed relatives of the two men killed on Thursday during the protests against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
Mangaluru Police Commissioner P S Harsha had earlier issued a statement, saying that a few people did not have accreditation cards issued by any authority and were being questioned.
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