A trainee Indian Police Services (IPS) officer stoked controversy in Bareilly when he reportedly issued written order restricting the entry of media persons inside police station campuses. The letter went viral on social media but senior officers in Lucknow remained tightlipped.

Local journalists in Bareilly were up in arms against the officer and termed his diktat as an attack on the fourth pillar of democracy.

Asper reports, Assistant SP, Ashok Kumar Meena, who is posted as Circle Officer (Second) with Qila, Subashnagar and CB Ganj police stations under his jurisdiction, issued an order in which he asked that besides other persons, entry of media in police station premises be restricted as several confidential records were kept there.

Meena reportedly asked station in-charges to fix a particular time in a day during which they could meet journalists and reply to their queries verbally. He also asked in-charges to prepare a list of all journalists frequenting police stations so that necessary action could be taken against them.

Sources said that journalists in Bareilly were agitated over the order and have already met senior officers including SSP Bareilly to apprise him of the development. They claimed that if the order was not withdrawn, they would be forced to take up the issue at the government level.

Meanwhile, DGP, OP Singh responded on his twitter handle about the misbehaviour by an Inspector in Ghazipur district. He placed suspended the guilty cop and asked SP of Ghazipur to probe the matter for further action.

The DGP received an information attached with a video file in which an old man was shown visiting Mardah police station in Ghazipur where SHO, Arun Kumar Rai abused him. After scanning the video, the top cop ordered Rai’s suspension.