Posted by
Colin Crummy
on 24 February 2006 at 18:03
Tags: Issues, Magazines, Muhammad cartoons
New Delhi police have detained Senior India editor, Alok Tomar, after he republished the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, according to Voice of America, contrary to a government warning against publication.
Tags: Issues, Magazines, Muhammad cartoons
Alok Tomar | 16 March 2006 at 7:14am
This is about me so please read my personal account
MY OPEN LETTER TO MRS. SONIA GANDHI
March 10, 2002
To,
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi
Chairperson
United Progressive Alliance
10, Janpath
New Delhi
Respected Sonia Ji,
You may not remember me bur I would like to remind you of my one and only meeting with you in 2001. After one year of Kargil conflict, when the then NDA government was busy in congratulating itself, I had returned as a special correspondent of Pioneer, from remote areas of Kargil- Drass valley. I had with me a delegation of local villagers from LOC whose lives were derailed during the war and they were facing hunger and destruction.
You had, in spite of your busy schedule given us a patient herinf and that very instan spoke to Mr. Wazahat Habibulla for detailed information. It was your initiative, which had forced the then Prime Minister Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee to announce a 10 crore relief package for the victims. I was and I am indebted for your sincere and sentimental aproach.
I am now writing this to you to seek justice from the personal vendetta of Mr. K.K. Paul, the Delhi police chief. I am working as the political editor of a TV news channel-S1 and also edits two fortnightly magazines from the same group. In our Feb 15 issue we had carried a two Paragraph long piece denouncing the mindset that resulted in publication of prophet cartoons. Invariantly a postal stamp size cartoon was also reproduced to illustrate the issue.
I am told, madam, that the ministry of home affairs issued a notification for seizing all the copies of concerned issue and we ourselves recalled all unsold magazines from the stall. Then on Feb, 22 a large number of policemen entered in our office in defence colony, Delhi and took me away to police station. Same day, after the courts closed, I was declared arrested. Next day instead of producing me (and my Group Chairman Mr. Vijay Dixit) in regular Patiala house court, the police took us to Tihar court and we were sent to 14 day judicial custody. We were charged for “conspiring to hurt the feelings of Muslim community”. We were kept in high security ward in the company of Kashmiri and Khalistani militants.
The police told us that there is a riot at Patiala house court but I know for sure that this farce of protest was created by local Muslim leaders, including two of your party MLAs who ironically did no nothing about the magazine and me. The hon’ble court did not see any merit in police theory and bailed us out. As a matter of irony, the police could not find a single Muslim citizen to complain against us and the FIR was registered by one head constable of Delhi Police.
Now I come to personal vendetta of Mr. K. K. Paul against me. Mr. Paul’s son Amit K. Paul is an advocate and known to take cases of the people wanted by Delhi police, headed by his father. The investigative officers could not dare oppose thier bossed son and his practice is thriving. In another case, the Police, under direct orders of Shri Paul arrested a 82 year old NRI for “stealing” his own car. the case was dismissed and the car was restored to the person by a court order. We as a responsible media faxed to Mr. Paul for his version but to our horror a letter came to us from one of the accused, in threatening language. Does Delhi police chief share his documents with the people wanted by his own force?
We published these reports three months back and no denial ever came. Then Mr. Paul got a chance to settle score and that is what he exactly did. We represented before Mr, Shri Prakash Jaiswal and waiting to hear from him. My wife Supriya. approached Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee, who in turn spoke to Shri Shiv Raj Patil. My wife overheard Mr. Patil’s secretary telling Mr. Vajpayee’s secretary that the orders of arrests have come from 10, Janpath. I know he was not telling the truth. I know you stand for justice and will never do a thing like this.
I pray for a brief appointment with you for my wife and me in the presence of Mr. Vivek Tankha, my friend and advocate to apprise you with full facts of the case and malafide activities of Mr. K. K. Paul. I am sure that you will ensure justice as you did in Kargil episode.
With all my regards
Alok Tomar
D-598-A Chittaranjan Park
New Delhi-110019
Phone–9811162227(Supriya) and 9871698805 (Alok)
Vishal Tayal | 28 April 2006 at 4:26pm
For 5% of police that is good, the remaining 95% is corrupt, brutal and criminal. Worse yet, the police get away with most of the crimes they commit (including rapes, extortion, torture etc.) legitimizing them in name of the law.
Regularly, there have been stories of the Indian Police killing people for offences as small as jumping a traffic signal and then make false stories to cover their crimes. There also have been multiple instances of police officers raping innocent girls just because they found them beautiful. Their family cannot do much about unless they have high connections as the police have a nexus with the justice system. Our corrupt government also goes overboard to protect them.
This situation is VERY BAD. The human rights of so many innocent Indians are violated by the police EVERYDAY!! So many vehicles are towed by the Mumbai traffic police for extortion with their drivers still sitting in them!
It’s high time that citizens come together to strip the police of their excessive powers and create alternative mechanisms of rendering justice. Because the police is the largest perpetuator of injustice and brutality in India.
Amba Charan | 6 October 2007 at 9:01am
The likes of Tasleema Nasreen and Salman Rushdie have no right to freedom of expression. Nor does Alok Tomar. But M.F.Hussain has the right — and the license — to freedom of expression by painting the Bharatmata and Hindu goddesses in the nude. If Danish cartoons hurt the sentiments of Muslims, do Hussain’s paintings not hurt the nation and Hindus? Is this the ’secularism’ UPA practising? It is nothing but a hoast, a hypocrisy.
Amba Charan | 6 October 2007 at 9:04am
Please replace the word “hoast”, third from the last to “hoax”.
Thanks.
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