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In a show of solidarity, over 100 journalists in Madras courted arrest on Friday morning protesting against the arrest of Sun TV reporter Suresh and police high-handedness when they had gone to submit a memorandum to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalitha, on behalf of Suresh, on Thursday.
Suresh has been charged under Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to attempt to murder.
The journalists pointed out that Suresh was only discharging his duties while accompanying local Dravida Munnetra Kazhagan legislator and former minister K Ponmudi during an inspection of a state civil supplies godown to verify allegations that it stocked rice of sub-standard quality.
They had gathering outside the state guesthouse in preparation for a protest march to the state Secretariat, where they had planned to submit a protest memorandum to the chief minister, when they were arrested for violating the eternal prohibitory orders in force in the locality.
The arrested journalists were sent to the Vepery police station. Should they be produced before a magistrate and remanded to custody, as is the norm, the chances of being released on bail before Monday are remote, given the intervening weekend holidays for the criminal courts.
On Thursday, the journalists had blocked roads protesting the chief minister's refusal to accept a memorandum on Suresh's arrest.
At that time, they had been pushed around by Jayalalitha's security personnel.
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