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| We remember you stood by us during crisis, thank you Mehbooba | | NC-Cong regime tried its best to silence Early Times by misusing power | |  Early Times Report
Jammu, Jan 7: When the former Chief Minister and President of the Peoples Democratic Party Mehbooba Mufti was in the opposition in 2010, she was the first person to highlight that then NC-Congress regime was leaving no stone unturned to "silence" the Early Times forever. We still remember her gesture and are thankful to her for standing with us in the crisis. We always remember the people who have helped us in testing times.
It was because of Mehbooba Mufti that then NC-Congress regime stopped leveling fabricated charges against the Early Times management and the staffers.
It was you (Mehbooba Mufti) who spoke in Jammu secretariat and raised the issue about Early Times being harassed by the then NC- Congress government. Only two leaders spoke in favour of Early Times you and Chaman Lal Gupta. He (Gupta) raised the issue about Early Times being harassed at the floor of the house. And we take this opportunity to thank him again. We are also thankful to Markandey Katju, late Dilip Padgoankar and Prof Saifuddin Soz for standing with us in the hour on crisis.
No other leader in Jammu and Kashmir dared to speak but you (Mehbooba) spoke about it when you were in the opposition but when you were ruling the state you ignored all the issues and remained silent. We are not thankless people. We remember everyone who helped us.
Flashback
The grave story about how we were penalized for siding with the truth began on November 26, 2010 when government stopped the advertisements without assigning any specific reason. Our ordeal began with the publication of a news item of an alleged attack on a temple at Anantnag in south Kashmir. The report was based on a handout issued by Police Control Room (PCR) Srinagar. The same was carried by other publications also. On the pretext of that news item, both our printing press and newspaper office were sealed on July 1, 2010 vide order DCJ/camp/2010/001-03. No notice was served. We were handed copy of this order much later. After intense persecution at both personal and official level, we were allowed to resume both printing and publication of the newspaper vide govt. order no. DCJ/PA/2010-11/151-156 dated 06-07-2010. However, some days later, a criminal case was registered against us under section 505. Thereafter, taking cognizance of a news item, though based on facts, published on September 18, 2010; police registered another case, for which Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor had to seek bail from the court. Management particularly Editor was frequently summoned to the Police station and treated like a criminal. Police forced Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor of the newspaper to give fingerprints on blank papers on November 21, 2010.
This was done in full public glare and more importantly, in the presence of several media persons, both from print and electronic media. The management and staff had to bear this grave humiliation. Not only this, our reporters were harassed and rumors about Early Times newspaper being shutdown were spread on routine basis alongside leaking falsified reports of our staffers indulging in bad behavior and brawls.
When the management sought concrete and pointed references of the same, we were explicitly told that it was being done to ensure compliance of directions from the higher-ups. Following on, Police and officials of CID started surveillance of Editor's home.
Two bars, owned by the Early Times group, Royal Bar and Cannon Bar, both located in city's busiest trade centers, were seized without any formal government notice on December 2, 2010. It took 21 days for the management to get the bars reopened. The 21 day closure had serious impact on the business .A day after opening of the two bars employees working in one of the two bars were picked-up by police on the basis of an FIR lodged by anonymous persons on December 24, 2010. When the owners sought details, the same were denied to them.
The employees were kept in illegal confinement for three days and then released on 27-12-2010. Thereafter, certain miscreants openly grabbed around 45 kanals of land whose legal ownership is with the owner of ET Bansi Lal Gupta. Concerned police station did nothing to stop open land grabbing despite High Court notice. Forty one days after the unjustifiable and highly condemnable Royal Bar incident, two Canon Bar employees were again arrested in a fabricated case.
The Canon Bar episode at ware house was replica of Royal Bar incident. In both cases, innocent waiters were booked and accused were set free. Police action was totally unjustifiable, unreasonable, illegal, unfounded and hence, was also condemned by one and all in strongest possible words. We have reasons to raise questions over the manner in which we are singled out and brutalized.
Moreover, the then Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu who was not working on the diktats of the government, was transferred and a trusted lieutenant of the real orchestrators was deputed as the IGP Jammu, to harass Early Times management.
The police raid on the ET office and residence of the editor was aimed at terrorizing the owners of the newspaper. The building was cordoned by hundreds of heavily armed policemen. It seemed as if the police were expecting dreaded Hafiz Sayed or Salah-ud-Din to be present in the ET office.
The residential house of the editor was ransacked, women and children were harassed. Water tanks on top of the roof were also searched. After intense persecution at both personal and official level Police forced Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor of the newspaper to give fingerprints on blank papers on November 21, 2010 and also clicked several photographs as generally done by police with criminals. Even, Passport of Editor-in-Chief was confiscated and a section was imposed on it, making it non-renewable.
Early Times besides facing the brunt of the government agencies has also faced threats from the anti-national elements. On August 21, 2014 ET received an e-mail from one Umar Gul, threatening ET management of dire consequences if the newspaper did not stop writing against Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani. The e-mail didn't stop Early Times from reporting the truth and exposing the anti-national elements, nor did it stop the newspaper from writing against the separatists who have been preaching secessionism and violence in the Valley to fill their own coffers.
Soon after ET received the e-mail, the management informed the police and filed a formal complaint with senior police officers, who later forwarded it to SOG (Special Operation Group) of police to examine the e-mail and lay hands on the accused. The SOG expressed its inability to lay hands on the e-mail sender, saying it had come from a foreign-based network. Till date no headway has been made to trace the culprit nor does anyone know the status of the investigation.
Despite facing all the odds we have remained firm on our resolve and the overwhelming support of our readers has kept us going. We hope that our esteemed readers would keep on supporting the truth and would make their newspaper stronger than before. We are thankful to our readers and well wishers for turning Early Times into one of the largest circulated dailies in Jammu and Kashmir. |
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