Bharat 24 anchor Shazia Nisar, Amar Ujala journalist Adarsh Jha arrested for extortion, blackmail
Noida: Noida Police have arrested Shazia Nisar, an anchor with Bharat 24, and Adarsh Jha, a digital wing anchor with Amar Ujala, in connection with three FIRs filed on charges of extortion, blackmail, and criminal intimidation.
The arrests were made based on complaints filed by top executives of Bharat 24, including Managing Director Jagdish Chandra, consulting editor Anita Hada, and HR head Anu Sridhar. According to the FIRs, the accused demanded ₹65 crore and allegedly threatened to file false rape cases.
During a police search at Nisar’s residence, authorities recovered ₹34.5 lakh in cash. Both accused were produced before a Gautam Buddha Nagar court and have been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
According to police reports, the duo initially demanded ₹5 crore but later increased the amount to ₹65 crore. Investigators have obtained audio and video recordings that reportedly document the threats.
Noida Sector-58 police have intensified the probe and are now investigating whether the accused were part of a larger blackmailing syndicate. Authorities believe the case may point to a broader network rather than isolated criminal actions.
The case has sent shockwaves through the media industry, raising serious questions about journalistic ethics, abuse of power, and the moral compass of news professionals.
Speaking to NewsLaundry, Bharat 24 MD Jagdish Chandra said, “The law of the land is taking its own course…she was fighting and threatening not just me but also a number of other senior colleagues, including editor Sayyed Umar, consulting editor Anita Hada, HR head Anu, and a few of the desk and assignment people…everyone was fed up of her."
Just hours before the arrest, Nisar was reportedly terminated from her position at the channel.
Shazia Nisar previously worked with Republic Bharat and had gained notoriety for her dramatic on-ground reporting during the Russia-Ukraine war. One of her videos from that coverage had gone viral.
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SC to hear on May 4 PIL seeking stringent guidelines for issuing Aadhaar to adolescents, adults
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea seeking a direction to the Unique Identification Authority of India to issue new Aadhaar cards only to citizens up to the age of six years, and frame stringent guidelines for its issuance to adolescents and adults to stop infiltrators from masquerading as Indian citizens.
As per the apex court's causelist of May 4, the plea would come up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay has also sought a direction to the authorities to install display boards at common service centres stating that the 12-digit unique identification number is only a "proof of identity" and not a proof of citizenship, address or date of birth.
Besides all the states and Union Territories, the plea has made the UIDAI -- which is the authority that issues Aadhaar -- and the Union ministries of home, law and justice, and electronics and information technology as parties.
The plea, filed through advocate Ashwani Dubey, said Aadhaar, originally intended as a proof of identity, has increasingly become a "foundational document" enabling individuals to obtain other identification documents, such as ration cards, domicile certificates and voter identity cards.
"The UIDAI has issued 144 crore Aadhaar and 99 percent Indians have been enrolled. Therefore, the petitioner is filing this writ petition as a PIL under Article 32, seeking a direction to UIDAI to issue new Aadhaar to children only and frame new stringent guidelines for adolescents and adults, so as to stop infiltrators from getting it and masquerading as Indian citizens," the plea said.
It said the need to file the plea arose when the petitioner came to know the manner in which infiltrators are able to procure Aadhaar through a verification process that is weak and can be easily manipulated.
"Foreigners apply for Aadhaar under the 'foreign' category. But infiltrators apply for Aadhaar under the 'Indian citizen' category and get it easily made. Thereafter, they obtain a ration card, birth and domicile certificate, driving licence, et cetera, essentially becoming indistinguishable from Indian citizens…," it said.
Besides seeking other directions, the plea has raised legal questions, including whether the Aadhaar Act 2016 has become "temporally unreasonable" for failing to keep up with the legislative intent of distinguishing foreigners from Indian citizens.
It said the alleged misuse of Aadhaar undermines targeted welfare delivery and leads to diversion of public resources.
