The Kerala Police has registered cases against TV journalists for reporting events of protests by Youth Congress workers and BJP Yuva Morcha workers in two separate incidents.

The Kurupampadi Police on Saturday registered a case against 24 News reporter Vineetha VG for reporting the incident of throwing a shoe at the Chief Minister’s convoy at Kuruppampaady in Kottayam. Vineetha has been booked under section  120(b) of IPC.  A notice has also been issued to her asking her  to  appear for questioning

The police also registered a case against the journalists who reported the BJP  Mahila Morcha’s protest at the DGP’s residence in Thiruvananthapuram last Saturday. The Thiruvananthapuram Museum Police have registered a case against four journalists, who entered the DGP’s residence to record the protest, saying that they had trespassed into the DGP’s residence.

The BJP Mahila Morcha workers on Saturday staged a protest at the official residence of state police chief  Sheikh Darvesh Sahib in Thiruvananthapuram, in protest against the police’s failure to investigate the rape and murder of a  6-year-old girl at  Vandiperiyar in Kerala’s Idukki district, leading to the acquittal of the accused.

A group of  Mahila Morcha workers barged into the premises of the official residence of Kerala DGP Sheikh Darvesh Sahib in Thiruvananthapuram, alleging that the failure on the part of the police led to the acquittal of the accused, a DYFI worker, who had been charged with the rape and murder of the 6-year-old girl at the tribal settlement at Vandiperiyar in Idukki.

Earlier, the police withdrew a similar case filed against a  woman TV journalist following the intervention of the Kerala High Court.

The Kerala  Union of Working Journalists  (KUWJ) has protested against the police action in filing a case against a journalist who reported the incident of throwing shoes at a Nava Kerala bus.

Calling this an encroachment on the freedom of the press, KUWJ asked the Kerala Police to withdraw the case registered against the journalist.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has defended the police action taken against journalists in the state.

Speaking to media persons here on the sidelines of the Nava Kerala Sadas, Pinarayi  Vijayan said the police have filed cases as they have proof of journalists engaging in conspiracy.

CM Vijayan raised his voice when a woman television journalist repeatedly maintained that journalists are merely doing their duties.