India Today suspends journalist Rajdeep Sardesai for two weeks over wrong tweet on farmer's death

In a tweet, which was removed later, Sardesai wrote: "One person, 45-year-old Navneet, killed allegedly in police firing at ITO. Farmers tell me: the ‘sacrifice’ will not go in vain.”

Besides the tweet, Sardesai, while speaking to another India Today correspondent from the ground, said on his show that the deceased, identified as Navneet Singh, will become a symbol for the protesting farmers against the Centre's agriculture laws and they would not leave until they got justice for him.

Sardesai, however, deleted his tweet the same day and followed it up with another video post stating: "While the farm protestors claim that the deceased Navneet Singh was shot at by Delhi police while on a tractor, this video clearly shows that the tractor overturned while trying to break the police barricades. The farm protestors allegations don’t stand. Post mortem awaited."

"The police have shown great restraint despite grave provocation by the farm protestors in ITO/Red Fort area: they fired tear gas, no evidence of bullets fired although farm protestors claimed otherwise. Amidst claims and counter claims, the police action needs to be commended," he wrote appreciating the Delhi police later.

The Delhi Police on Wednesday released a video which showed Navneet Singh speeding and running over barricades with his tractor during the violence which resulted in the overturning of the vehicle.

The report of the autopsy on the farmer revealed that he died due to a “traumatic injury above the left side of his skull from where his brain started oozing out”.

Sardesai's tweet received flak in social media too with some demanding that the senior journalist should be sacked.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) social media chief Amit Malviya tweeted: "He is a repeat offender, should have been sacked!"

Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra on Wednesday tweeted, “Rajdeep Sardesai is off air. But that's not enough. There should be a criminal FIR against Rajdeep Sardesai and he should be behind the bars. His fake news was main reason police was attacked on 26th January."

The hashtag #ArrestRajdeepNow was also trending on Twitter.

It may be pertinent to mention here that Rajdeep Sardesai had tweeted condolence on Pranab Mukherjee's death falling prey to fake news while the former President was still alive and undergoing treatment at the hospital.