Two journalists held for abetting suicide of man framed in fake rape case

KENDRAPARA: Patkura police on Sunday arrested two journalists on charges of abetting the suicide of a man who was falsely accused of rape.

The accused are Pratik Mishra, reporter of an Odia news channel and Babuli Mallick, the editor of YouTube channel ‘Suchana’.

Banshidhar claimed the accused duo demanded Rs 1 lakh from him as extortion. When he refused to pay the money, they told Damayanti to file a fake rape case against him. On Tuesday, Damayanti lodged a complaint accusing Banshidhar of raping her in a house in 2020. Subsequently, Pratik and Babuli spread false information about the rape through their news outlets and social media platforms.