Farmers’ protests: FIR against Shashi Tharoor, and 6 senior journalists for ‘inciting violence’

New Delhi: A police case has been filed against Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and six journalists for allegedly “misreporting” and “spreading disharmony” on Republic Day when a tractor rally by farmers turned violent in Delhi.

All of them face charges including sedition, criminal conspiracy and promoting enmity under the Indian Penal Code.The First Information Report (FIR) against them was filed at a police station in Noida on a complaint by a resident of the city near Delhi, who alleged “digital broadcasts” and “social media posts” by Mr Tharoor and the journalists, who claimed that a farmer had been shot dead by the Delhi Police, contributed to the siege of the Red Fort and violence during the tractor rally.

The journalists named in the FIR are Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Vinod Jose, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath and Anant Nath.”Yes, the FIR has been filed,” a senior police officer in Noida told media.

On January 26, thousands of protesting farmers clashed with the police during the tractor rally in protest against new farm laws. Hundreds of protesters had entered the Red Fort and clashed with the police.