Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Niranjan Rath, a devotee of Hanuman and a controversial life member of Servants of the People Society (SoPS), projected as a person of moral turpitude in an enquiry report authored by Justice Arijit Pasayat, is the printer and publisher of the ‘Samaja’ newspaper, whereas Satya Roy, a retired desk journalist, as a reward for lobbying in corridors of courts for some of the SoPS miscreants, is its editor-in-charge on a time-bound contract.
They committed a crime by design or negligence that irritated the muslim community in whole of the State leading to angry protests in front of the Samaja office at Cuttack and ransacking of its premises elsewhere.
But, to save their skin, they have shrewdly shifted the responsibility to a sub-editor and the Police, pressed by CMO to protect these two fellows, has arrested Jitendra Das, the sub-editor, whom the primary court has thrown into custody oblivious of his right to personal freedom, even though, under laws governing the Press, he cannot be held guilty.
A very wrongful picture of Prophet Mahammad was published in the Samaja of January 14, against which a section of Muslim inhabitants of Cuttack wanted to place their protests before the editor. Denied the audience, they organized public protests that became acrimonious and mobile phones being sharp carriers, the information of Cuttack spread through out the State. Irritated Muslims ransacked the paper’s Balasore set-up and Rourkela edition office also soon tested the bitterness. Beyond the seats of Samaja editions, members of the aggrieved community also demonstrated their angry protests in important nerve centers of the State.
As situation was getting more menacing, the DGP had to rush to the newspaper’s head office at Cuttack to pacify the muslims and protect the Samaja functionaries. And, he somewhat succeeded. But, then, surprisingly, sub-editor Jitendra Das was handed over to Police by the illegitimately clinging GM of the paper Suresh Mantry,who never forgets to project himself as a retired IAS officer and who is noted to have acted the mastermind behind torture of employees by the management.
ORISSA MATTERS wanted to know from the Police as to why a sub-editor has been arrested when for the mischief the editor-in-charge and the printer-publisher are individually and collectively answerable. Police just fumbled. Who raised the allegation against the sub-editor? Police kept mum.
Sri Das has been illegally suspended.
Earlier we have shown how a sub-editor, pressed to report the Assembly, has been suspended for his faithful reporting of a debate, as therein a member who had mocked at the Chief Minister’s secretary Pandian was quoted.
In such nefarious hands the Samaja has fallen.
The Labor department is not daring to intervene as the illegal occupiers of Samaja (Samaja is occupied by SoPS through a forged Will) are under protection of the Chief Minister, who has whimsically transferred a labor officer of Cuttack for having initiated action against unfair labor practices rampant in the Samaja establishment.
Now, to save the real culprits, the Police has been used to arrest sub-editor Jitendra Das in order to save their own skin and divert public attention.