The 3rd of October 2023: the day that changed the lives of more than 80 citizens of India, including mine https://www.adaniwatch.org/the_3rd_of_october_2023_the_day_that_changed_the_lives_of_more_than_80_citizens_of_india_including_mine Paranjoy Guha Thakurta Nov 28, 2023
Among the articles and videos on Adani published by NewsClick are one on how the changes in shipping policies helped the group, another on how rules were tweaked to enable it to become the biggest private operator of airports in India, and yet another on how a judge of the Supreme Court had given a series of rulings in favour of the conglomerate before he retired. For the last-mentioned article in the series of three articles, a ‘gag’ order was issued against this writer, his co-author, and representatives of the portal. Coincidentally, the day the order was issued I had interviewed Australian activist Ben Pennings, who had won a legal battle against Adani in Australia – read Geoff Law’s article on him here...
Among the persons who received unexpected visitors that morning, were not just popular anchors on NewsClick’s YouTube channel, such as Abhisar Sharma, Urmilesh (he uses one name), Bhasha Singh, Aunindyo Chakravarty and Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay (who has written several books, including an unauthorised biography of Prime Minister Narendra Modi).
One of the worst aspects of the police action was that at least 300 personal electronic devices (cellular phones, laptops, hard drives and pen drives) and other belongings (such as passports and property documents) of more than 80 individuals were seized and have remained in the custody of the Special Cell since 3 October. This is a way of depriving journalists of their livelihood. The Supreme Court has asked the Indian government to frame a set of guidelines on seizure of personal electronic devices by the first week of December.
‘It is dangerous all powers are with the agencies