Arrests – Journalists

A former BBC journalist, Vinod Verma, has been arrested in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. His arrest is connected to a scandal about a supposed sex tape involving a Chhattisgarh state politician. A police spokesman told the BBC that Mr Verma was suspected of extortion, and another said 500 CDs had been recovered from his house.

Mr Verma denies the extortion allegation, saying he is being “framed” as he has a copy of a sex video. He says he has it on a pen drive. “I don’t have any CDs,” he said. Reports suggest that the alleged sex tape concerns a member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was a member of the BJP that filed a complaint that led to Mr Verma’s arrest.