Today, on Thursday, a couple of incidents 1,325 km apart are trending on X, sharing a common thread over the issue of asking for accountability from state officials. These incidents highlight concerns over the increasing use of state power against citizens who question the functioning of the government in a democracy.
A YouTuber from Pune, Santosh Pandit, was detained by Pune Police from his home at 1 a.m. over allegations of using derogatory language against Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil, police said.
Santosh Pandit has 1.15 million subscribers on YouTube and is known for making videos questioning government officials over civic and law-and-order issues.
The detention occurred a day after Pandit shared a video on social media showing footage of a BJP workers’ meeting in Pune, where the venue’s parking lot was filled with luxury cars that he claimed belonged to BJP members.
He raised questions over the police protection provided to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gopichand Padalkar, noting that he is not a minister in the Mahayuti government and allegedly does not have the mandatory high-security registration plate (HSRP) on his vehicle.
In March, a woman filed a complaint accusing Pandit of allegedly making objectionable comments and abusing her while covering a protest.
On August 30, BJP leader Sunil Pandey filed a complaint against Pandit over his comments about Patil.
Pandit urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to pay attention to the way the police handled the activist.
“If the police can come to my house at 1 a.m. and take me away, what can an ordinary citizen expect? Is this how the administration intends to treat people who ask questions?” Pandit said in the video.
Similarly, in another incident in Delhi, two women independent journalists from 4PM Network, a YouTube channel with 8.73 million subscribers, alleged that police personnel detained and assaulted them while they were covering a news event in South Delhi.
Delhi Police has not responded to the allegations so far.
In a video shared on social media by 4PM News Network, journalist Shaheen Khan appears at a police station, alleging that she faced physical assault and mental harassment. She also displays injury marks on the body of a female colleague.
Along with the video, 4PM News Network put out a post that read: “Has asking the chief minister a question become such a big crime that police will brutally beat up a journalist? What happened today in Delhi with 4PM’s journalist Shaheen is extremely serious and frightening.”
The post went on to say: “Shaheen was trying to ask Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta a question. Shaheen alleges that Delhi Police caught hold of her at that point and took her to the police station while beating her. She also alleges that when police personnel asked her name and heard ‘Khan,’ the assault intensified.”
4PM also suggested in its post that the incident may have been linked to her journalistic work.
Besides Shaheen, journalist Nafisa Khan is also reported to have been assaulted.
According to Newslaundry, person associated with the two journalists told that the incident took place during the inauguration of a new building at Saket Max Hospital, where the two had gone to report. Both were taken into custody from there.
These incidents highlight concerns over the increasing use of state power to create a chilling effect and fear among citizens. Questioning the government can lead to individuals being detained or harassed by the police, potentially shrinking the space for speech and expression in society.
Apart from direct censorship, self-censorship is a more intimate and psychological process that can curtail an individual’s free expression of thoughts even before they are brought before the world. The fear of arrest, harassment and social ostracisation can affect an individual’s ability to freely pursue their work and express their views.
Social media has led to the democratisation of media and enabled a growing number of social activists and independent journalists to flourish and function independently as watchdogs of society. These voices may not always be comfortable for those in power, but questioning authority is an important part of a functioning democracy.
The government, rather than viewing independent journalists, activists and creators only as critics, can engage with them as an additional source of feedback on governance. After all, accountability does not weaken the state; it can make institutions more responsive.
The real concern arises when asking questions itself begins to carry the fear of detention, harassment or intimidation. In a democracy, citizens should not have to choose between speaking up and staying safe.