Viral photos show journalists stripped half-naked in MP’s Sidhi police station

A viral post where a group of journalists are seen stripped down to their undergarments by Madhya Pradesh police is doing the round.

In the photo that has been shared along with the post, eight men are seen standing against the wall, half-naked in their undergarments. The incident is said to have taken place on 2 April in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.

Local journalist and YouTuber Kanishk Tiwari, who has been identified in the photo, told The Quint that he had gone to cover the arrest of theatre artist Neeraj Kunder who was arrested for allegedly making indecent remarks about BJP MLA Kedarnath Shukla and his son Guru Dutt using a fake ID.

"We had gone to the Kotwali police station to enquire about his arrest. But we were arrested by the police and kept in lock-up for almost 18 hours. We were beaten, abused, and were asked to remove our clothes,” said Tiwari.

Neeraj Kunder, the director of Indravati Natya Samiti in Sidhi district, has reportedly been working to saving the art of Vindhyas.

Reports indicate that Kunder had created a fake Facebook ID in the name of Anurag Mishra. Upon his arrest, many people, including Kunder's parents and Tiwari, had gone to the police station.

Another theatre artist Narendra Bahadur Singh, who had gone to the police station in support of Neeraj Kunder, alleged that they were all beaten up and asked to strip.

"We had just gone to give the memorandum, but the police decided to assault us. Journalist Kanishk Tiwari was also beaten up. He has exposed scams by the local police as well MLA Kedarnath Shukla, and he too faced their ire,” said Narendra Bahadur Singh.

The Police station in-charge of Sidhi and a sub-inspector have been suspended and attached to the Police Lines in connection with the incident. The matter is to be investigated by the Additional Superintendent of Police, Inspector General of Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, said.

"The incident happened on 2 April, one Mr Kanishk Tiwari along with some other people had gone to the Kotwali police station and were creating ruckus over the arrest of one theatre artist Neeraj Kunder. Kanishk and others were kept in preventive detention and were later arrested under IPC Section 151. They were released on bail on 3 April,” said Mukesh Kumar Shrivastava, Sidhi SP.

When asked about the viral photo showing Kanishk and others half-naked, SP Shrivastava said, "It's a normal procedure to ensure that none of them could attempt anything unwanted, such as killing themselves. The photo has come to my attention – and I have ordered enquiry into the matter. Whosoever clicked and distributed the photo will soon be found and legal action will be taken against those involved."

Among those arrested were theatre artists and supporters of Kunder. All of them were released on 3 April.