Journalists had called the raid on a newspaper office as an attack on press freedom.
Highlights
- Police had raided offices of Greater Kashmir newspaper on Saturday
- Printing of newspapers was banned on Saturday, copies confiscated
- Official told NDTV Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti not in favour of ban
, the largest circulated daily in the Valley, on Saturday around 1 am, the newspaper had said.
They had arrested three of its employees, seized printing plates and confiscated thousands of copies of the newspaper, officials of the daily said.
Today, Sayaz Ahmad Lone, the senior superintendent of Budgam district, was removed for the raid.
The action coincided with what local reporters called a media gag in the Valley as newspapers were asked to suspend printing and distribution. For three days newspapers have not been sold in most parts of the valley - a move that local journalists have described as an attack on press freedom.
Speaking on NDTV's show Buck Stops Here, Amitabh Mattoo, advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti today said there was no official "ban" on newspapers.
"There was no ban on newspapers, there was some miscommunication. Papers can publish. In the age of globalisation, there is no question of imposing ban," he said.
"Sometimes decisions taken at a local level is not something highest authority approves of. The Chief Minister herself believes in freedom of expression even if it is against the establishment. We need to know who took the decision on the ban. We will take action once the crisis is over," he said.Government officials had said the clampdown on newspapers was to ensure that the curfew in place for the last 10 days in the Valley was not violated.
Forty-two people have died and more than 2,100 injured in Kashmir as protests flared across the state since the killing of terrorist Buran Wani on July 8.