7 months ago
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Two Madhya Pradesh-based journalists were released connected Saturday (October 18, 2025), a time aft they were detained from Bhopal by the Rajasthan Police for allegedly moving “fake and defamatory quality stories” connected the State’s Deputy Chief Minister Diya Kumari and “demanding” ₹5 crore to region them.
On Friday (October 17), a squad of the Jaipur Police had detained ‘The Sootr’ quality portal’s exertion successful main Anand Pandey and its managing exertion Harish Divekar from Bhopal and taken them to Rajasthan, prompting a bid of backlash from assorted journalists crossed the 2 States arsenic good arsenic from leaders of the Opposition Congress.
Jaipur Additional Commissioner of Police Manish Agrawal told The Hindu that Mr. Pandey and Mr. Divekar were released connected Saturday evening aft interrogation and that nary ceremonial apprehension was made successful the case.
“We person fto them spell aft the questioning for present but the probe volition proceed successful the case,” Mr. Agrawal said, adding that the 2 tin beryllium called for questioning again successful required.
A spokesperson astatine ‘The Sootr’ said that the duo was released astir 6 p.m. and “nothing factual was recovered to beryllium the reports false”.
In an authoritative merchandise connected Friday, the Jaipur Police said that a ailment was received connected September 28 astatine the Karni Vihar constabulary presumption by 1 Narendra Singh Rathore, claiming that the portal had been “continuously moving mendacious and misleading quality for the past 1 month, conspiring to defame the Deputy CM [Ms. Kumari]”. The complainant alleged that Mr. Pandey and Mr. Divekar person made demands of crores of rupees, done immoderate acquaintances, to region the reports and not people immoderate successful future.
The Jaipur Police said that a lawsuit was registered based connected the ailment and that its probe revealed that Mr. Pandey and Mr. Divekar had “illegally demanded Rs5 crore to region the mendacious reports from ‘The Sootr’ and ‘The Capital’ portals, and not people immoderate different mendacious reports successful future”.
They had “threatened” to tally a run called ‘Destroy Diya’ against the Deputy CM, successful lawsuit the wealth was not paid, the constabulary said.
Reacting to the detention, ‘The Sootr’ had connected its website termed the detention “cowardly” and that the Rajasthan Police had acted “without immoderate allegation oregon FIR”.
The quality outlet had published aggregate stories alleging Ms. Kumari’s engagement successful assorted corrupt practices specified arsenic amerciable encroachment of land. The stories included a bid titled ‘Diya Tale Andhera [Darkness Under the Lamp]’.
