
Arnab, R. Kannada editor booked for 'fake news' on CM
NT Correspondent
Bengaluru: An FIR was filed against Republic TV Chief Arnab Goswami and R. Kannada editor Niranjan on accusations of disseminating false information about Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and attempting to stoke animosity in the state ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
The complaint, lodged by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee’s Law, Human Rights, and Right to Information State Secretary Ravindra MDS, led to the registration of the FIR at SJ Park Police Station in Bengaluru.
The incident in question occurred on March 27 at 7:15 pm when R. Kannada aired footage purportedly showing an individual impeding traffic, including an ambulance, during Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s supposed passage through MG Road in Bengaluru.
However, it was later revealed that the Chief Minister was in Mysuru at the time and had not travelled on the said route.
Allegations suggest that the video was circulated without verification, potentially to provoke public sentiment amidst the elections.
However on Thursday afternoon the R. Kannada issued a corrigendum, stating that it had fact-checked the claims made by the BJP sources.
It posted the video on X, saying that when the channel fact-checked the claim made by BJP sources, it was found that the claim about the CM’s convoy blocking an ambulance was false.
Consequently, Arnab Goswami, owner of R. Kannada (Republic) channel, and editor Niranjan have been named in the FIR filed at SJ Park Police Station.
A few months ago, the Bengaluru Police had registered FIR against news anchor Sudhir Chaudhary for “conspiring to disrupt communal harmony” in a show hosted by him on the Aaj Tak news channel during which he talked about the state government’s commercial vehicle subsidy scheme.