On Monday, the Srinagar office of the Kashmir Times, one of Jammu and Kashmir’s leading English newspapers, was sealed by the union territory’s administration. The daily’s editors were quoted as saying by PTI that they had not been served a cancellation or eviction notice, nor were they given a reason in writing for the sealing. The paper is headquartered in Jammu with a bureau office in the summer capital.
The office, situated in the Press Enclave, was sealed by the estates department, which had earlier allegedly overseen the ransacking of the government quarters of the paper’s executive editor Anuradha Bhasin in Jammu.
Today, Estates Deptt locked our office without any due process of cancellation & eviction, same way as I was evicted from a flat in Jammu, where my belongings including valuables were handed over to "new allottee". Vendetta for speaking out! No due process followed. How peevish! pic.twitter.com/J5P0eKxvbx
— Anuradha Bhasin (@AnuradhaBhasin_) October 19, 2020
Bhasin said her paper’s office was sealed without due process. She described it as “political vendetta” against her for daring to petition the Supreme Court against the total communications blackout imposed in the region by the Narendra Modi government when Article 370 was abrogated last year.
Speaking to the Indian Express, Bhasin said, “They haven’t served any eviction or cancellation notice to us. They have simply locked our office. We haven’t handed over anything to them. Our infrastructure is here, our computers are here, all the machinery and technical things are here, our generators and other equipment are here.”
The action against the Kashmir Times drew condemnation from the journalist fraternity as well as the Committee to Protect Journalists, which condemned the “ongoing harassment” of Bhasin.
Only in Kashmir this happens and happens with no shame, no regret. First in 2016, the PDP-led BJP coalition government banned the Srinagar-based English daily Kashmir Reader. And now entire journalism has been criminalised. Now Kashmir Times office is sealed. Democracy? FoS? FoE? https://t.co/lE7smTPPNh
— Gowhar Geelani (@GowharGeelani) October 19, 2020
#India: The office of The #Kashmir Times, one of the most respected newspapers of the region, has just been sealed by the local govt, after its editor @AnuradhaBhasin_ was recently manhandled. @RSF_inter is appalled by this new attack on press freedom in the valley. @pzfahad
— RSF (@RSF_inter) October 19, 2020
Office of the daily Kashmir Times sealed by Estates department here in Srinagar. In solidarity with @AnuradhaBhasin_ https://t.co/2PEs1qHgHk
— Auqib Javeed (@AuqibJaveed) October 19, 2020
"Kashmir Times," one of the most reputed newspaper in J&K has been sealed by J&K govt. Anuradha Bhasin, Editor of Kashmir Times was recently manhandled at her Jammu apartment. pic.twitter.com/D6qaskAoTJ
— Aarif Shah (@aarifshaah) October 19, 2020
We condemn the ongoing targeting and harassment of @AnuradhaBhasin_ and the Kashmir Times. Authorities must stop trying to silence independent and critical voices and should respect press freedom. https://t.co/Wd20XGFC4k
— CPJ Asia (@CPJAsia) October 19, 2020
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