Hyderabad: Activists demand FIR against news anchor

Hyderabad: The activists representing different organisations requested DGP Telangana and Hyderabad Police Commissioner to register FIR against a Zee News anchor for hurting religious sentiments and for spreading communal hatred in garb of news and analysis.

In an online complaint filed by SIO (Telangana) on Thursday, they mentioned that Zee News Hindi media platform published a video claiming to be the ground report on buying of lands in Jammu. The video was published on its official Twitter account @ZeeNewsHindi anchored by its Editor Sudhir Chaudhary who operates his own twitter account @sudhirchaudhary.

The same video was broadcasted on its channel on March 11. "The ill-conceived report uses a term "ZameenJihad" attributing to the Muslims who bought land in the said region to be 'waging a demographic war'. This is a clear case of propaganda targeting the Muslim community. Such propaganda in the name of news and usage of religious terminologies which must be seen in a specific context of the religious scripts, the channel was indulging in creating fear of Muslims in the non-Muslims of the country. This is a serious threat to the law and order in the country," the Organisation emphasised.

In another complaint filed by the city-based RTI activist, SQ Masood to Commissioner of Police against Zee News Hindi and anchor Sudhir Choudhary on Friday, he held that the channel was disseminating fake news, attempting to incite communal disharmony and implying that law-abiding Muslims were terrorist- jihadists.

In his complaint he mentioned that Chaudhary explains the difference between 'soft jihad' and 'hard jihad". These said expressions in quotes were used by him in the video clip. "This so-called diagram, which Chaudhary seeks to show as proof to millions of his viewers, shows that 'kattar jihad' or hard jihad includes 'jansankhya jihad' (population jihad), 'love jihad', 'zameen jihad' (land jihad), 'shiksha jihad' (education jihad), 'peedit jihad' (victimisation jihad), 'seedha jihad' (direct jihad). The inanity and casting of aspersions does not end there, Chowdhary talks about 'aarthik jihad' (economic jihad), 'aitihaasik jihad' (historic jihad), 'media jihad', 'film aur sangeet jihad' (film and music jihad), 'dharm nirpekshta jihad' (secularism jihad)," he added in his complaint.

They demanded that a case be booked under section 153A, 295A, 502, 504, 505 (2) and further relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code against Zee News Hindi and its anchor Sudhir Chaudhary for spreading communal hatred.