The Ghaziabad police has arrested the Editor of online edition of Dainik Jagran known as jagran.com on web. The police arrested Sashank Shekhar Tripathi from his Sahibabad residence on Tuesday. After the arrest Tripathi was produced before the court from where he was granted bail.
The police said that Tripathi published an exit poll on the website on February 13. The second phase of the staggered Assembly election in Uttar Pradesh is due on Wednesday. Taking cognisance of the issue, the Chief Election Officer ordered the district election officer (DEO)/District Magistrate (DM) to file an FIR and arrest the erring editor.
In a complaint to the Station Officer of Kavi Nagar police station, the complainant District Information Officer (DIO) Rajendra Bahadur Singh submitted that he has been directed by the DEO to file an FIR.
The complaint states that the publication of exit poll was to confuse the voters in the coming second phase Assembly elections. So it is the violation of Model Code of Conduct. So it is crime under Section 188of IPC and 126 (a) and 126 (b) of Public Representative Act 1951.
The complaint included two other persons Managing Editor and Managing Director of RDI a survey company.
“We have arrested the editor in charge Sashank Shekhar Tripathi. The other two accused persons are yet to be arrested. The raids are being conducted other remaining two accused persons. Tripathi was produced before the court which granted him bail” said Hemant Rai the Station Officer of Kavi Nagar police station.