The police officer said that not all people in the photograph are journalists
After a picture of a journalist along with some people stripped half-naked at a police station in Madhya Pradesh's Sidhi district went viral, the police said that they were kept in custody in their underwear to "avoid any circumstances where they died by suicide".
Speaking to the reporters, SHO Manoj Soni said, "A photo that is going viral in which it is being said that all the people are journalists. I want to make it clear that all of them are not journalists, only one of them is (YouTuber). Rest are the friends, and relatives of the accused."
The police officer informed that an FIR was registered against a man identified as Neeraj Kunder for "abusing famous personalities and politicians" on social media, following which a group of nearly 30 people including YouTuber Kanishk Tiwari, claiming to be a journalist, protested against his arrest.
"An FIR was registered a few days ago against Neeraj Kunder who was involved in abusing famous and political personalities and women from a fake ID on social media. An action was taken against him and he was sent to jail. Protesting against it, his friends and family, nearly 30 in number sat on 'dharna' and protested against his arrest," the SHO said.
Mr Soni further said, "The YouTuber was involved in the protest. They were inciting the people to protest against the police and administration."
When asked about the viral picture, the police officer said that the information of them being stripped naked is false and they were "kept in the underwear keeping their security in mind so that they did not die by suicide with their clothes".