Let scribes do their job, Kerala CM Pinarayi writes to Yediyurappa

At least 20 journalists, all from various media houses in Kerala, are in police custody in Karnataka. Unconfirmed reports said two were let off after Kerala Revenue Minister E Chandrasekharan took up the matter with the Karnataka authorities.

Sources said the police were turning away non-Tulu or Kannada speaking journalists from the scene. Journalists on the scene said the police had forcibly sent away journalists saying they wanted ‘no Bengaluru journalists and other-state ones’ around.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to his Karnataka counterpart B.S. Yediyurappa seeking the immediate release of the journalists. Terming the detention of the journalists on duty ‘unfortunate,’ he urged the latter to ensure that they are released immediately and allowed to work without being intimidated.

The Kerala CM said in a Facebook post that DGP Lokanath Behera was in touch with his counterpart to ensure the release of all the journalists arrested while they were covering the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests which rocked Karnataka and the rest of the country on December 20. He said  it was unacceptable to portray journalists as miscreants and their news gathering equipment as ‘weapons.’ The CM’s post came after tweets emerged saying ‘fake journalists’ had entered Karnataka. “The attacks on

Two people were killed in police firing and the police came down hard on restive crowds and often used extreme force on random people going about their business.

Karnataka Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai had stated that Keralites were behind the protests in Karnataka. Two people had died in police firing in Mangaluru on Thursday (December 19).