MADURAI: Police on Thursday booked two French journalists for allegedly trespassing into a restricted area belonging to Indian Rare Earths Limited at Manavalakurichi in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu on Monday.

While the French nationals could not be questioned as they hurriedly returned to France the same day, police quizzed a local parish priest and a local journalist and his companion till Thursday.

Police said French nationals Arthur Roland Rene and Jules Damien were investigative journalists who had come on a tourist visa.

The Manavalakurichi police booked them under Section 447 (punishment for criminal trespass) of the Indian Penal Code read with sections 14(A) (penalty for entry in restricted areas, etc.), 14(B) (penalty for using forged passport) and 14(C) (penalty for abetment) of the Foreigners Act 1946.

Superintendent of police (SP) of Kanyakumari district N Shreenath told TOI that the duo used to travel to various countries on tourist visas, shoot videos and take pictures and sent them to television channels in Europe.

“They came to Kanyakumari on a pre-planned visit to shoot for a story on beach sand mining,” he said.

The French journalists landed in Delhi on November 11. They got help from Anandkumar, who is a freelance journalist with a Tamil satellite television channel, and Manakudi parish priest Father Hildas.

Anand had also brought his friend, M Sriram, with him to accompany him for three days. Sriram is a cameraman with another Tamil TV channel.

The French nationals and others reached Kanyakumari on November 23 and were shooting videos in various places.

Around 10.30am on November 26 (Monday), they reached Indian Rare Earths Limited at Manavalakurichi. “A signboard stating it is a ‘prohibited area’ is there at the entrance of the premises. The public, especially foreign nationals, are not allowed there. But the French journalists and those accompanying them trespassed and started shooting videos and taking photos,” the SP said.

Alerted by IRE personnel, the local police rushed to the spot.

Sensing the situation, the journalists left the spot. Anandkumar allegedly took them to Thiruvananthapuram airport, from where they took a flight to another domestic airport and then flew to France. It was following these developments that the police started quizzing Anandkumar, Hildas and Sriram.

The SP denied allegations of illegal detention of Anandkumar and Sriram. He said the duo stayed in a lodge in Kanyakumari, from where they appeared for questioning by the police.

“They were free to move around, and their mobile phones were not seized as alleged by some people on the social media,” he said and added that they were not allowed to use their mobile phones when they had been questioned.

Police sources said a case was registered against Hildas while no case was registered against Anandkumar and Sriram.

‘We are illegally detained’

Anandhakumar told TOI that he and Sriram had been “illegally detained by the Kanyakumari police for the past two days.”

He said: “We were verbally asked by DSP Bhaskaran of Kanyakumari to attend an ‘inquiry’ at his office on November 28. Both Sriram and I left Chennai to Kanyakumari by overnight bus on November 27 and duly attended the ‘inquiry’ around 11am on November 28. "

Anandhakumar said he and Sriram were under the impression that it was simply a routine questioning. "DSP Bhaskaran told us over the phone that we could leave the same night; i.e., November 28. "

"To our shock, we were illegally detained at the DSP office and questioned for hours. We were asked to sign a statement, which we did. After that we were taken to Sun World Hotel in Kanyakumari and locked up in room 412 for almost six hours."

He said the police took their mobile phones away. They were unable to communicate with their family members, friends and colleagues.

“After six hours, we were again taken back to the police station. Sriram was asked to go back to the hotel room and stay there. But I was forced to sit in the Kanyakumari police station under the excuse of an ‘enquiry’. But no one asked me any questions. I was made to sit quiet and my mobile phone was taken away from me.”

“After the intervention and multiple calls from my journalist colleagues in Chennai, the Kanyakumari police finally gave my mobile phone back to me and then took me to the Sun World Hotel around 3am on November 29. Again, they asked us to be present at Kanyakumari police station at 11am on November 29. Then we were taken to DSP office and instructed to sign summons. I refused to sign stating that we had been illegally detained for no reason. Finally, the DSP, under pressure from journalists, allowed us to leave,” he said.

