A journalist based in the Maoist heartland of Dantewada goes missing and no one bats an eye. Prabhat Singh who was arrested this March for spreading obscenity through his “whatsapp” message is missing for the past three days.
Having blown the lid from many government atrocities in Dantewada he was on the police radar for long time. Earlier in March, he addressed a press conference, organized by the Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) where while condemning the arbitrary arrests of Journalists and advocating for a ‘Journalist protection bill’ talked about his own ordeal. Speaking about the condition of scribes in Chhattisgarh he had said how they are faced with the choice of either “quitting journalism or Bastar.”
He narrated how on March 21, 2016, he was “abducted” by policemen in plainclothes from his office in full public view. Detained in Parapa police station through the night, his arrest was only shown in the morning from Jagdalpur. He was roughed up during the said illegal detention and the police asked him to start writing reports in favour of Bastar Inspector General SRP Kalluri. He was forced to sign a number of blank documents and others of unknown content. He was not allowed to consult or meet with his lawyer. He was also threatened that he could be implicated in Naxal-related cases if he did not comply with the “authorities.” He claims to have been strip searched in jail, which has become a standard norm for all inmates.
Perhaps, the fear voiced by him has been realised, as he time and again voiced his concern of being targeted because he questioned Inspector General of Chhattisgarh Police Shiv Ram Prasad Kalluri about an encounter that many suspect was fake.
Many journalists and activists on social media are claiming that he has been picked up by Bastar police, but his whereabouts remain unknown. A colleague of him told media about the last conversation he had with Singh where Singh had told Shukla that he was afraid of being kidnapped. His last whatsapp message clearly says, “I am afraid that on the directions of Chhattisgarh government the kidnappers of Inspector General Shiv Ram Prasad Kalluri will kidnap me on basis of forged cases,” and voice messages reveal of a conversation between him and someone named TI Dutta, who claimed to be from Jagdalpur police. The caller was miffed at the reports of his “mistreatment” by the police and threatened him openly.
There are fears, speculations and hushed whispers which clearly connect all the loose ends to give a larger picture- He went missing while reporting against the government. In Bastar, journalists have a difficult choice. Battling vigilante groups, insurgents and hostile law enforcement agencies they work somehow and that is the reason why ‘Reporters Without Borders’ has called India ‘Asia’s deadliest country for media personnel, ahead of both Pakistan and Afghanistan.’
