BHUBANESWAR: Journalists from both print and electronic media on Sunday condemned the Orissa government's `hasty' decision to register cases under 124(a) (sedition) and 417 (cheating) of IPC against reporters, who helped in the reporting that people in the backward Nuapada district were subsisting on a kind of rock.

Two reporters -- Khaturam Sunani and Mayadhar Saraf -- presented their views before State-level journalists here saying that they helped some fellow journalists in reporting the event.

Case filed

Terming the report as `false and motivated', the State government had initiated a criminal case by registering case at the Sinapali police station against the two persons Khaturam Sunani and Meghnad Khersel. Journalists were of views that the State government should have registered its complaint in different forum such as Press Council of India before taking the extreme step.

The two reporters said tribals belonging to Gaharia tribes consumed stones during rainy season or time of floods for its medicinal values.

Sacking of one reporter by a local channel was also criticised by journalists. They said the reporter was not alone who was responsible for filing the story, it must have been examined and cleared by several other persons. "Why the reporter was singled out and sacked?" they questioned.

Senior journalist Sampad Mohapatra said it was an attempt by the State government to terrorise media by choosing charges such as sedition, which was not at all applicable in this case. "Though Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had assured that the case would not be pursued, we want the case should immediately be withdrawn," he said.

House panel

A house committee is scheduled to visit the village under Sinapali block of Nuapada district to verify if the stone consuming by tribals was true.

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