SRINAGAR: Authorities in Kashmir have called for heightened vigilance in view of repeated complaints of blackmail or extortion by some individuals posing as journalists.

In a communication to district information officers in the Valley, Joint Director Information (Kashmir) Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari said that there have been repeated complaints from field officers of different departments, public representatives and media houses that certain individuals are posing as journalists of various media organisations.

He said that in several instances, such persons have been found misusing the name of media for “blackmail, extortion, coercion of officials and circulation of unverified and defamatory material against public institutions and officers”.

“In some cases, such individuals were apprehende

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