THE LATUR police have registered an FIR against a journalist for a newspaper article on the crashlanding of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s chopper on Thursday afternoon, which says that policemen at the spot ran away in fear and a 28-year-old local scrapdealer helped Fadnavis out of the helicopter.

The police have claimed that they have evidence that “the police ran towards the chopper and not away from it as the article claims”. The Nilanga police station at Latur registered a case of defamation against journalist Govind Ingle on Sunday for the news report which appeared in the supplement ‘Hello Latur’ of Lokmat newspaper on May 25.

“In the news report, the reporter has said that after the Chief Minister’s helicopter crashlanded, policemen at the spot ran away in fear. He has claimed in the report that it was a local scrapdealer who helped the Chief Minister first which is incorrect,” said a police officer, adding, “We have videos to prove that when the helicopter crashed, the police teams ran towards the helicopter to help the Chief Minister.”

The FIR was registered after a complaint by Hanumant Padile, an officer from the Nilanga police station. In his complaint, he alleged that the article on Maty 25 said that while the police ran away after the helicopter crashed, local scrapdealer Irfan Shaikh came forward and helped Fadnavis out of the helicopter.

An officer said that while the FIR had been registered, no arrest was likely since it was a bailable offence. “In case we need an arrest, we will need special permission from the court,” an officer said. The local police is investigating the matter and has said that the video evidence will be strong to prove the newspaper story is incorrect.

mumbai.newsline@expressindia.com

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.