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Hyderabad, May 9 (IANS) The YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh Wednesday staged protests condemning the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) move to freeze the bank accounts of the Sakshi group. YSR Congress Party supporters and journalists took out separate rallies and staged 'dharnas' in different parts of Andhra Pradesh to condemn the freezing of the bank accounts of Jagati Publications and Indira TV, owned by the party leader Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy. The CBI froze the current accounts of the two companies along with that of Janani Infrastructure as part of its investigations into Jagan's alleged illegal assets. There was mild tension at Punjagutta circle in Hyderabad when police arrested leaders and workers of the YSR Congress party as they tried to hold a protest demonstration. At ESI Hospital at Erragadda in Hyderabad, the protestors sat on the road. Raising slogans against the Congress government, they set afire the effigies of Congress party president Sonia Gandhi and the CBI. Condemning the CBI action against media organizations, the journalists took out a huge rally from the Somajiguda Press Club to Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the state governor. Holding placards and black flags, the journalists, including employees of Sakshi newspaper and TV channel condemned the CBI action and termed it as an attack on the freedom of press. Sakshi input editor Govind Reddy said the freezing of accounts was an attempt to gag the media. He described it as the back day in the history of democracy. The journalists also staged a protest in front of the CBI office in Visakhapatnam. Raising slogans against the CBI action, they claimed that the freezing of the bank accounts of Jagati Publications and Indira TV was an attack on the freedom of press. They demanded the bank accounts of the companies be restored immediately as hundreds of families were dependent on the newspaper and the TV channel for their livelihood. Meanwhile, a lawyer has approached the state human rights commission, challenging the CBI action against Sakshi. The commission issued notices to the CBI joint director and labour commissioner, directing them to submit a report by June 6.
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