Singh has remained in custody since his arrest in July 2022 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act
Freelance journalist Rupesh Kumar Singh, who has been in prison for the past four years, is at the centre of renewed calls from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which has demanded his immediate release and all charges be dropped.
In a press statement, RSF says that Singh has remained in custody since his arrest in July 2022 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, after being accused of links with Maoist rebels. It says the journalist is facing five separate cases, despite securing bail in two of them.
The statement adds that Singh was first arrested in 2019 after police allegedly planted explosives in his car. Following his 2022 arrest at his home in Jharkhand, he was subsequently named in three additional cases, extending his detention.
Also Read: RSF condemns cyberharassment campaign in India against Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng
The organisation says Singh was transferred on April 9, to Bhagalpur Central Prison, more than 350 km from his hometown, making it difficult for his wife and eight-year-old son to visit him. It says this is his fifth prison transfer since 2022 and that his health has deteriorated during his detention.
RSF says Singh had reported on the health impact of industrial pollution in Jharkhand’s Giridih district shortly before his 2022 arrest. His reports, published by the news website Janchowk and on his X account, documented illnesses that residents linked to industrial contamination, including the case of a young girl with a facial tumour.
According to the organisation, Singh’s wife, Ipsa Shatakshi, believes the legal action against him intensified after these investigations. RSF also notes that Singh’s phone number appeared on a leaked list of potential Pegasus spyware surveillance targets in 2021, alongside those of other Indian journalists.
The organisation says human rights defenders and journalists have questioned the cases against Singh, noting that his name was allegedly added to the 2022 police complaint after it was initially filed. Although he obtained bail in two cases, the Supreme Court rejected his bail application in another case in January 2025. That case is now being investigated by the National Investigation Agency, and no fresh bail application has yet been filed.
Also Read: Online harassment of women journalists intensifies in India: RSF
RSF says Singh’s case is among those highlighted in its July 2026 report examining the growing use of national security laws against journalists. The report argues that terrorism, espionage and anti-state charges are increasingly being used in several countries to prosecute journalists reporting on issues such as environmental damage and human rights.
“Rupesh Kumar Singh has been enduring legal persecution for four years because he exposed the truth through his journalism. Accusing a journalist of terrorism without evidence, filing multiple cases against him and transferring him far from his family serve to discourage reporting on industrial pollution affecting vulnerable communities. We call for his immediate and unconditional release, the dismissal of all five cases, an end to the prison transfers and access to the medical care he requires,” Anne Bocandé, Editorial Director, RSF.
