Kamran Yusuf’s bail plea to come up for final hearing on Feb 21
New Delhi: A Delhi court is likely to announce its final decision on the bail plea of Kamran Yousuf, a freelance photo-journalist, arrested last year for alleged stone-pelting and other offences in Kashmir.
Kamran’s case was heard again on Monday in the court of Tarun Sherawat, Additional Sessions Judge, Patiala house court Delhi, reports said.
During the proceedings, the court announced to hear the case again on February 21.
Sources said that the court is likely to announce its final decision regarding the bail application of Kamran on Feb 21 (today).
Earlier, NIA in its charge sheet has claimed that Yousuf was not a real journalist as he has not covered any government’s development projects in the area.
“Had he been a real journalist/stringer by profession,” the NIA said, “he may had performed one of the moral duty of a journalist which is to cover activity and happening (good or bad) in his jurisdiction. He had never covered any developmental activity of any Government Department/Agency, any inauguration of Hospital, School Building, Road, Bridge, statement of any political party in power or any other social/developmental activity by the state Government or Govt. of India,” the charge sheet said, according to a national daily.
Later, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called on Indian authorities, including the National Investigative Agency (NIA), to drop charges against Kashmir photojournalist Kamran Yusuf immediately and to free him.
“India’s National Investigative Agency is way out of its league and has no business defining what ‘a real journalist’ should cover,” Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator had said.
KV Correspondent
