Editors Guild slams Kerala government for FIR against reporter

New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India on Friday deplored the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) by the Kerala Police against a reporter of a television channel in connection with her coverage of a students' protest where shoes were hurled at a bus carrying Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

"While the Editors Guild does not condone any act of violence, it deplores in strongest words the police action against the reporter," the guild said in a statement here.

The Kerala Police in Kuruppampady has charged the reporter, Vinitha V G of television channel '24 News', with criminal conspiracy under section 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and issued her a notice to appear for interrogation.

The guild also demanded that the Kerala government desist from punishing the reporter for discharging her professional duty and instruct police to withdraw the charges against her.

"To cover protests is a media responsibility and is no crime. A reporter's presence at a protest site does not make him or her complicit in any untoward incident that may have occurred," the guild said.