In a severe dereliction of duty, Karnataka police allegedly refused to register an FIR after senior journalist G. Mahantesh, editor of The File, received death threats following his investigative reports on a prominent trust. Instead of providing immediate protection, officers merely registered a non-cognizable report and turned him away.

The Karnataka Union of Working Journalists has strongly protested this administrative apathy. The Bharat Media Association demands immediate police action and security for Mahantesh. When law enforcement refuses to protect investigative reporters facing credible assassination threats, they become complicit in the violent silencing of the free press.