New Delhi: An FIR has been registered against veteran journalist Ajit Anjum in Bihar’s Begusarai district over his recent reportage regarding the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. The complaint has alleged that Anjum spread misinformation regarding the ongoing process.

The FIR was registered on July 13 at the Ballia police station in connection to a video on his YouTube channel on July 12, in which Anjum had alleged large-scale irregularities in the voter list in the Sahebpur Kamal assembly constituency. 

The video showed how the SIR process was being undertaken in Balia and claimed that many voter forms were being filled and uploaded without the Election Commission’s required documents or photographs.

The district administration, in a statement released on platform X, dismissed these claims and called it “baseless” and “misleading”. It also alleged that the video was intended to “incite public sentiment”.

According to a report by Newslaundry, the FIR was filed based on a complaint by booth-level officer Mohammad Ansarulhaq, who alleged that Ajit Anjum and his colleagues met him while he was uploading data using the BLO app and began asking questions about Muslim voters in the area.

Earlier in the day, Ajit Anjum had posted on X that he did not receive a copy of the FIR said to have been filed against him. However, it was later confirmed.

“I’m getting information about an FIR being filed against me in Begusarai, Bihar. I have not received a copy of the FIR. I am waiting,” he said.

He also wrote about the video in question and alleged that he had been coerced to delete the video to which he refused. 

“Two days ago, I reported irregularities in the forms being filled for 'SIR' in Ballia block. I was called by the local BDO and SDO, asking me to delete the video. I did not listen to them. The result is evident,” he said. 

“There are a hundred questions about the Election Commission's methods in Bihar. Instead of answering those questions, efforts have now begun to intimidate journalists. In this video, I have presented my side. I will not be scared. I will show only the truth. I will report on the shortcomings,” he added.

“I am waiting for official information about the FIR. I came to Begusarai from Kishanganj last night so that the administration does not face much trouble in searching for me,” he further added.

Digipub condemns FIR

Meanwhile, Digipub News India Foundation, a coalition of digital media organisations and independent journalists, has strongly condemned the FIR filed against the journalist calling it a “direct assault” on independent journalism.

In a statement, the journalists’ body said, “DIGIPUB News India Foundation strongly condemns the FIR filed against independent senior journalist and YouTuber Ajit Anjum in Begusarai, Bihar and demands that the FIR be immediately withdrawn.” 

“This FIR is not just an attack on an individual journalist-it is a direct assault on independent journalism and the public's right to know the truth. While reporting from the ground on the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process in Begusarai, Ajit Anjum highlighted exactly what the people on the ground shared with him. According to him, he was trying to bring out the facts related to SIR. However, this honest effort appears to have displeased the govement and administration,” the statement read.

It also pointed to the press release that the Begurasai district administration had issued prior to the FIR, calling Anjum’s reportage “misleading”. 

“These vague allegations are neither credible nor reason enough for an FIR. Either authorities should learn to provide accurate and factual information to journalists' queries or step aside when journalists find information on their own with no cooperation from a democratic machinery that should be providing transparency but seldom does.

“Ajit Anjum had also raised concerns about violations of the Election Commission's guidelines in Bihar-something that falls well within the responsibilities of a journalist, not a criminal offense. Instead of addressing those legitimate questions, the Election Commission, through this FIR, has attempted to intimidate not just him but all independent journalists who dare to report from the ground,” Digipub stated.

The body said that the action appears to be a “systematic and deliberate attempt to silence the press and suppress inconvenient truths” and asserted that it was an attack on press freedom and a threat to democratic values and the constitutional right to free expression. 

“This FIR, in our view, is nothing but a cover-up for institutional failures, and we strongly oppose it. We stand in solidarity with Ajit Anjum and with every journalist who has the courage to speak the truth,” it asserted.

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