Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Friday, 18 September firmly declared that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government would never pressurise or intimidate the media, asserting that the arrest of Reporter TV Managing Director Anto Augustine had no connection with the channel's journalistic work. The statement came amid heightened scrutiny over the government's actions against a senior media figure in Thiruvananthapuram.

Chennithala's Assurance to the Press

“The media is free to do its job and we are very clear about it. The UDF government will never ever put pressure on the media through intimidation,” Chennithala told reporters. He emphasised that the investigating agencies possessed all legally required documentation when they entered the Reporter TV office as part of their probe. “The police had all the papers according to law when they entered the office of Reporter TV,” he said.

The Case Against Anto Augustine

Augustine was arrested by the Excise Department in connection with an Abkari case, following the seizure of liquor from his ancestral house at Vazhavatta in Wayanad. His arrest came hours after a Special Investigation Team (SIT) — probing alleged financial irregularities linked to the proposed visit of football star Lionel Messi and the Argentina team to Kerala — conducted searches at the Reporter Broadcasting Company office and premises associated with Augustine and his brothers in Kochi and Wayanad.

The Judicial First Class Magistrate Court at Sultan Bathery had on Thursday remanded Augustine in judicial custody for 14 days, and on Friday rejected his bail plea. The government has maintained that the Excise case and the SIT investigation into the proposed Messi event are entirely separate matters.

Allegations Against the Previous Government

Chennithala also took the opportunity to allege that journalists had faced sustained pressure during the previous one decade under the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government. “Many journalists during the previous one decade came under duress with regard to news. What happened with Reporter TV was nothing to do with news,” he said. The remarks drew an implicit contrast between the UDF's stated commitment to press freedom and what the minister characterised as a pattern of media intimidation under the Left Democratic Front (LDF).

SIT Probe and Government's Position

Chennithala clarified that the SIT, headed by ADGP P. Vijayan, was constituted on the basis of a report submitted by the Sports Secretary and handed over to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan. “The SIT is doing its job according to law. It has acted only in accordance with the prevailing laws. The Home Minister does not intervene,” Chennithala said, distancing himself from the day-to-day operations of the investigation. The dual-track nature of the probe — one arm examining the Messi event finances, another pursuing the Excise case — is expected to keep the controversy in the spotlight in the days ahead.