Coming down heavily on the move of Special Cell of Delhi Police to detain senior journalist Iftikhar Gilani hours after Afzal Guru’s execution on 9 February, the chairman of Press Council of India, Justice Markandey Katju has written a letter to the Home Secretary demanding suspension of the responsible officers and those who issued the detention orders. Katju said in his letter that the concerned police officers have committed serious crimes under Sections 341/342 and they are also guilty of gross and blatant abuse of their powers. The PCI chief also demanded that an apology and compensation be given to Mr. Gilani and his family. Fellow journalists and the Editors Guild of India have also come out in strong support of Mr. Gilani.
Gilani works as an assistant editor for English news daily DNA and is son-in-law of Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani. He along with his wife was detained for nearly five hours by officers from the Special Cell of the Delhi Police. The officers also locked his two school-going children into the bedroom of their flat.