Varanasi Police Book Scroll Journalist Supriya Sharma For Story On Village Adopted By PM Modi

The Varanasi Police have registered a First Information Report against Scroll.in's executive editor, Supriya Sharma for a June 8 report on the effects of the lockdown in the Prime Minister's constituency.

According to the FIR, police acted upon a complaint filed by Mala Devi, a resident of Varanasi's Domari village who was a case study in Sharma's report titled, 'In Varanasi village adopted by Prime Minister Modi, people went hungry during the lockdown'.

The police have also named Scroll.in's "editor-in-chief" in the FIR.

In her complaint to the police alleged Sharma misrepresented her comments and identity. She claimed she was not a domestic worker, but worked as a sanitation worker at the Varanasi city municipality through "outsourcing".

"During the lockdown, neither myself nor anyone in my family faced any problems. By saying that I and my children went hungry, Supriya Sharma had made fun of my poverty and caste." as quoted in the FIR.

According to an FIR lodged on June 13 in Varanasi's Rampur police station, Sharma has also been charged under Sections 501 and 269 of the Indian Penal Code. While the former deals with printing "defamatory matter", the latter pertains to "negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life".

Reacting to the FIR, the web portal said, "Scroll.in interviewed Mala in Domari village, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, on June 5, 2020. Her statements have accurately been reported in the article titled, 'In Varanasi village adopted by Prime Minister Modi, people went hungry during the lockdown'."

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