Socio-cultural activist Suparno Satpathy has in a write up expressed shock over the manner of arrest and incarceration of Bikash Swain, publisher of Suryaprava by the Bhubaneswar Police.
He was arrested on a FIR of civil nature in lightening speed and produced before a court in such a manner and at such a time that it would not be possible on his part to get bail and hence would go to jail with no appropriate court to intervene for at least two days due to closure of the courts on holidays. This was when his presence was essentially required at the bed of his cancer crumbled father and no investigation had been made into credibility of the FIR and no question was put to Swain to verify whether or not he was involved with the alleged offense, he has said.
Pointing out that Sri. Swain owns a daily news paper “which has been exposing the wrong doings of the BJD Government”, Sri Satapathy has said, “an angle of political vendetta and foul play cannot be ruled out” specifically as dealing with this particular case, the Police has shown unusual haste.
“The ruling party in Orissa has been systematically suppressing the voice of any media which works independently. This strongly indicates the autocratic approach of a government which has gone mast with the unprecedented result of the 2009 general elections in which they got re-elected to power. With an absolute majority in the Orissa Legislative Assembly, the current BJD government is working in a manner like there is no tomorrow and that they can get away with anything and everything they want”. Therefore, Satpathy has stated, “Every responsible citizen must extended his / her support to the cause of a free and fair media. It is not required to support a wrong doing of an accused but it is certainly required to stand for a cause where the accused is humiliated and punished long before he/ she is even proved guilty. There is no crime bigger than an innocent loosing his/her dignity”.