Raipur journal arrested for writing satire against govt shifted to Bilaspur jail

Days after he was arrested for writing political satires which allegedly criticised the Congress government in Chhattisgarh, Raipur-based journal Nilesh Sharma was on Saturday shifted to Bilaspur jail from Raipur, the police said.
The Raipur police plans to add more charges against Sharma in connection with the pornographic content found on his phone, police officials said, even as the arrest triggered widespread protest on social media.

Sharma, who is the editor of online portal Indiawriters.co.in and its magazine, was arrested the cyber cell of the Raipur police on Wednesday. He had posted a series of articles under a column titled ‘Ghurwa ke maati’. The fictional characters in these political satires allegedly resembled miners and MLAs in the current government, as per a complaint filed against him a Congress worker.
In a statement released on Saturday, Raipur police claimed that they had found pornographic content in Sharma’s phone. “He was in touch with women involved in prostitution. We also found objectionable conversations with people,” a senior police officer said.

Besides, the police also found confidential government documents and other papers on his mobile phone. “It is not possible to access these papers without help from someone from within the government. We are investigating who all were working with him,” the officer added.
Meanwhile, journals across the country have raised questions over the state’s decision to arrest Sharma over a political satire. The BJP has targeted the ruling Congress on the issue. “We are going to question the government over the harassment of journals. Where is the state’s law to protect journals,” asked D Purandeshwari, BJP leader and in-charge of the state.