Eight journalists including Deepak Chaurasia, Chitra Tripathi charged under POCSO Act; Here's why
In a significant development last week, a special court in Gurugram, Haryana, took a crucial step by formally levying charges against eight journalists, including prominent anchors Deepak Chaurasia, Chitra Tripathi, and Ajit Anjum. The allegations pertain to the purported broadcasting of manipulated, edited, and inappropriate videos involving a 10-year-old girl and her family. These videos were reportedly linked to a case involving the self-proclaimed spiritual leader Asaram Bapu, who is facing accusations of sexual assault.
The group of media professionals facing charges consists of Ajit Anjum, anchor Md Sohail, and reporter Sunil Dutt, all associated with News24. Additionally, editor-in-chief Chaurasia, anchors Tripathi and Rashid Hashmi, Jodhpur-based reporter Lalit Singh Badgurjar, and producer Abhinav Raj, affiliated with India News, are among those charged. The charges brought against them encompass several legal provisions, including sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology (IT) Act, and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The charges encompass criminal conspiracy (Section 120B IPC), forgery (Sections 469 and 471 IPC), online abuse of children (Section 67B IT Act), publication or transmission of explicit content (Section 67 IT Act), disclosure of a child's identity by the media (Section 23 POCSO Act), and indecent or obscene representation of a child (Section 13C POCSO Act). The accused are alleged to have conspired to create and disseminate a manipulated video involving a minor girl and her family, which was subsequently broadcast on news channels. This act is said to have caused harm to the reputation of the victim and her family.
Moreover, the accused have been charged with forging and editing electronic records (the video clip) with the intent to tarnish the reputation of the victim and her family. They are also accused of knowingly telecasting the altered video on their respective news channels, portraying the minor girl in an inappropriate and obscene manner.
Of particular note is the charge related to Section 23 of the POCSO Act. The court's order references an incident on July 2, 2013, when religious leader Asharam Bapu visited the complainant's house. The visit was recorded on a mobile camera by an assistant or close aide of Asharam Bapu. The video was subsequently aired on both News24 and India News without complete and accurate information, potentially damaging the victim's reputation, invading her privacy, and disclosing her identity. The video depicted an inappropriate physical contact between Asharam Bapu and the minor girl. The accused, by allegedly tampering with and distorting the electronic record (video), violated Section 23 of the POCSO Act in conjunction with Section 120-B of the IPC.
During the proceedings, the accused pleaded not guilty to the charges and opted for a trial. The next phase of the case is scheduled for September 25, 2023, when the prosecution's evidence will be presented.
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Body of Bihar Police personnel found hanging in barracks in Patna
Patna (PTI): The body of a Bihar Police personnel was found hanging from the ceiling of a room in his barracks here, a senior officer said on Sunday.
Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma said a havildar with Bihar State Armed Police-1, popularly known as "Gorkha battalion", died allegedly by suicide as he had been suffering from some ailment.
The deceased left behind "two suicide notes", one in Hindi and the other in his native language Nepali.
"From the suicide notes, it appears that Navraj Sunar, the deceased havildar, had been suffering from some ailment which had caused him much mental anguish and may have driven him to take the extreme step," the SSP said.
The body was being sent to the native village of the deceased in Nepal after a post-mortem examination, while further investigations were on, with forensic experts inspecting the site of the incident.
