Mumbai Police Close Down Bandra Crowd Gathering Case Against ABP Majha Journalist Rahul Kulkarni, Say FIR Based On 'Mistaken Facts'

Mumbai Police have filed an 83-page closure report before the 12th metropolitan Magistrate Court in Bandra, claiming that Kulkarni’s news report did not mention the place and day on which these special trains would run.

New Delhi: In what comes as a big victory to freedom of press, the Mumbai Police on Saturday shut down the case against ABP Majha news journalist Rahul Kulkarni in connection with the crowd gathering at Bandra railway station which took place during Lockdown 1 announced by the Central government. As per reports, Police have found no evidence of direct or indirect involvement of Rahul Kulkarni in the case and thus have requested the court to acquit the journalist under Section 169 CRPC. What was the case all about: On April 14, 2020, a large crowd gathered at the Bandra Railway Station after ABP Majha aired a news report about a special passenger train service to be launched by the railway department to ferry migrant workers back to their hometowns during the 21-day lockdown announced by PM Narendra Modi to contain the Coronavirus outbreak. After the chaos and chain of misinformation, the Mumbai Police arrested the 43-year-old journalist. How the alleged crime was persuaded by Mumbai Police: A total of four cases were registered by the police. In it, sections 117, 188, 269, 505 (2) of the Communicable Diseases Act 1897 were imposed against Rahul Kulkarni. Notice was required to be given as per section 148. But in violation of all the rules, the Mumbai Police arrested Rahul Kulkarni on the morning of April 15 from his house in Osmanabad. The chargesheet had to be filed within 90 days as per the rules. The chargesheet was filed by the police. During the 90-day investigation, the police investigated the crime. Police have since admitted that Rahul Kulkarni was not involved in the case. What Mumbai Police' closure report says: According to the report, screenshots of the news broadcast on ABP Majha, on April 14, have been captured under the Punchnama. According to the report, the Railway Board had announced plans to start public trains to transport migrant workers to their villages. Apart from this, it is seen in a report that journalist Rahul Kulkarni has reported that 'it has been decided to start unreserved vehicles called Jansadharan across the country'. However, there is no definite mention in the report as to when the mentioned public trains will start and in each report it is reported that the proposal is under consideration by the Indian Railways. Mumbai Police have filed an 83-page closure report before the 12th metropolitan Magistrate Court in Bandra, claiming that Kulkarni’s news report did not mention the place and day on which these special trains would run. “People had misinterpreted and misunderstood Rahul Kulkarni’s news,” the Police report stated. The police have also accepted that the FIR was filed on the basis of 'mistaken facts'. Several media watchdogs and veterans termed Rahul Kulkarni's arrest as attack on Freedom of Press After the arrest of Rahul Kulkarni in this case, many veterans had termed it fallacious and criticised Mumbai Police for its action. ABP Network CEO Avinash Pandey and ABP Mazha Editor Rajiv Khandekar had said that they believed in the judiciary and that there was nothing incorrect or false aired by ABP Majha or Rahul Kulkarni. On the other hand, journalist Ravi Kumar, editor Girish Kuber, journalist Milind Khandekar, senior journalist Bharat Kumar Raut, journalist Vijay Chormare, journalist Ashok Wankhede and many others had supported Rahul Kulkarni on social media. Even in political circles, several leaders had said that Kulkarni's arrest was a mistake. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, Raju Shetty, Anjali Damania along with poets Soumitra, Vishwambhar Chaudhary, Avinash Dharmadhikari, Parag Karandikar too supported Rahul Kulkarni and ABP Majha. Even the Broadcast Editors' Association (BEA) and News Broadcasters Association (NBA) had condenmed the arrest of ABP Majha journalist. The media associations even wrote to the Government of Maharashtra and Chief Minsiter Uddhav Thackeray seeking proper investigation into the matter.