New Delhi: Journalist Abhishek Upadhyay has alleged that he and his family are being harassed by Ghaziabad Police. In a post on X on August 21, Upadhyay alleged that police personnel had visited his residence and questioned his family members. He said the visits were part of a continuing pattern of harassment against him.Notably, Upadhyay was among the first journalists to bring the corruption and theft allegations at the Ayodhya Ram Mandir to light. His reports received a lot of attention, and the scandal has since led to nationwide headlines, resignations and a special investigation team probe.In a subsequent post, Upadhyay questioned the Ghaziabad police over what he said was its failure to provide him with a copy of the FIR registered against him. He alleged that after repeatedly seeking the document since the previous night, a police official sent him a random page that did not mention either the sections invoked or details of the alleged offence, before later sharing a copy of an older FIR registered against him in Lucknow. Upadhyay asked whether this was being done deliberately to prevent him from knowing the charges under which police personnel had come looking for him at his residence late at night.Speaking to The Wire, Upadhyay mentioned an earlier FIR. “Yogi Adityanath had been described as “Ishwar” and I as an agent of foreign funders. As if nobody must write anything or say anything against him,” he said. Upadhyay accused the police of pursuing him while disregarding legal and constitutional safeguards.“I broke the news of Ram Mandir theft on June 7, since then, these complaints FIRs have become routine for me. I am exposing their corruption, that is their problem. In the garb of Hindu-Muslim politics, Uttar Pradesh is witnessing massive corruption in government departments,” Upadhyay told The Wire.Upadhyay also elaborated on his allegation that the Ghaziabad Police had not provided him with a complete copy of the FIR against him. “After asking for the document, I was first just a single a page from the FIR registered at Indirapuram police station which did not mention the sections of law invoked or details of the alleged incident,” he said.When he sought the complete FIR, he alleged, the police instead sent him a page from a separate 2025 case registered against him in Gorakhpur over his reporting on the death of a NEET student.Upadhyay has alleged that the police had mixed pages from two different FIRs while continuing to withhold the complete Ghaziabad case, and accused the authorities of attempting to detain him at night without properly informing him of the charges. He linked the action to his recent reporting on the theft of donations and other issues concerning the Uttar Pradesh government.In the last few months, Upadhyay’s YouTube channel, Top Secret, has carried a series of reports about influential political and religious figures, particularly in Uttar Pradesh. Most prominently, he was among the first journalists to bring public attention to the theft and irregularities in the handling of donations at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, including through interviews with former employees associated with the temple’s donation-counting process. His allegations subsequently led to an investigation and arrests. Upadhyay has also used the channel to scrutinise other politically influential figures and institutions, often exposing wrongdoings within UP’s Public Works Department and other departments that have generated considerable attention and questions.Upadhyay launched his channel in August 2024 and faced police action in September 2024 after he published a report and a series of posts questioning what he described as the growing prominence of Thakur officials in key positions in the Uttar Pradesh government under Adityanath.In 2024, an FIR was registered against Upadhyay and journalist Mamta Tripathi at Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station following a complaint by a freelance journalist Pankaj Kumar, who accused them of publishing “false, baseless and misleading information” and attempting to disturb communal harmony.Upadhyay subsequently approached the Supreme Court, arguing that the FIR was an attempt to target him for his journalism and expressing apprehension that further criminal cases could be filed against him.On October 4, 2024, the Supreme Court ordered that no coercive action be taken against Upadhyay in connection with the FIR. The court observed that merely because a journalist’s writings are perceived as criticism of the government, criminal cases should not be slapped against the writer.The FIR against Upadhyay had raised concerns over the use of criminal law against journalists in Uttar Pradesh. At the time, Upadhyay said the case was an attempt to intimidate journalists from asking questions and pursuing such stories. His latest allegations suggest that, according to Upadhyay, the pressure on him has continued despite the Supreme Court’s intervention.The Wire also contacted Ghaziabad Police for their response to Upadhyay’s allegations. This article will be updated when a response is received.