A day before planned dharna, case against scribe dropped

Bathinda: Buckling under public pressure, the Bathinda police have decided to cancel the FIR against journalist Maninderjit Singh and another person, registered at Rampura Phool city police station on Feb 25. The case was registered on the complaint of Rampura Phool MLA Balkar Singh Sidhu's personal assistant Resham Singh under Section 336(4) BNS (forgery committed with the intent to harm someone's reputation) and 66D of the Information Technology Act, 2000. To protest against the development, several demonstrations were held by journalists and human rights activists in the region, with a demonstration even at Chandigarh. A massive protest was planned at Bathinda district administrative complex on March 3, but a day ahead of the proposed plan, the police agreed to cancel the case. On Sunday, complainant Resham Singh gave in writing that "he wants to take back his complaint," and urged the police to cancel the case. "When the cancellation report is filed in the court, he will record his statement about the cancellation of the FIR," said a source. Rampura Phool DSP Pardeep Singh confirmed that complainant Singh has written to the police to withdraw the case. "Acting as per the request, a cancellation report will be filed in the court in a day or so," he added. As per the complaint, an audio clip was made viral on social media, where a person, purported to be MLA Balkar Singh Sidhu, could be heard making derogatory comments about women and some activists of the Aam Aadmi Party. The complainant alleged it was done to tarnish the image of the MLA by Rampura-based Rajesh Kumar Jethi, and he "conspired with TV journalist Maninderjit Singh Sidhu from Jaito" to defame the MLA.
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