Nakkeeran editor Gopal arrested for reports on Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit 

R Gopal.

New Delhi: Journalist R Gopal, who is the editor of Tamil biweekly Nakkeeran, was released after the court orders, on Tuesday. Gopal was arrested by Chennai Police on Tuesday morning, for reporting a series of alleged defamatory stories against Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Gopal was arrested under Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for “assaulting president, governor, etc, with intent to compel or restrain the exercise of any lawful power.” He was produced before a metropolitan magistrate in Egmore. Magistrate Gopinath declined to grant police’s request for Nakkeeran’s remand and questioned the importance of the IPC section.

The senior police official informed that Gopal was taken into custody at 8.15 in the morning from Chennai Airport. Gopal was going to participate in a programme from Pune. According to the sources, the police may had put the accusations of Journalist Sedition.

Refusing to comment on the nature of Raj Bhavan’s complaint, the official said that Nakkeeran had recently brought up reports linked to the university sex incident to the governor Purohit and his office.

The main accuser of the university sex incident, Nirmala Devi, was arrested in April, because an audio clip of her alleged conversation with the girls had gone viral on social media, in which she was heard saying that girls had to have sex with the authorities to earn points and money.

When the governor and some of his top officials got entangled in this controversy, Tamil Nadu opposition parties demanded the resignation of governor Purohit, which prompted Purohit to appear before the media to refute the allegations against him.

In the media briefing, the Purohit claimed that he had never seen the face of the woman and it was the work of the opposition parties seeking him to resign. Purohit said, “I don't know that woman, I had never met that woman. I am always surrounded by so many people and it is not possible for anyone to meet me without my permission.”

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