Umesh Kumar says local authorities in northern state of Uttarakhand targeting him and his wife, according to Mail Today paper
NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - A senior journalist from India's northern state of Uttarakhand has accused the local authorities of "hounding" him for exposing government corruption in the region, the Mail Today reported on Tuesday.
The paper said Umesh Kumar and his wife, who run the News Network of India (NNI), told the Press Council of India that government officials have launched several false criminal cases against them for highlighting irregularities in state projects.
Kumar told the daily that NNI had embarrassed the Uttarakhand government in 2010 by exposing the allotment of licenses to build small hydroelectic plants to non-existent companies and individuals, as well as the sale of land without following the necessary rules and regulations. Both projects were later abandoned by authorities.
The paper said Kumar and his wife are accused by the government of forgery, cheating and even abusing a lower caste Hindu, which is illegal in India. The couple also face closure and demolition notices on their property and those of their relatives.
"Kumar says he and his wife have to go into hiding and even switch off their mobile phones after breaking a story against the state government," said the newspaper."Each time, the judiciary has come to their rescue by staying their arrest or demolition notices," the report added.
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