Video had no Pakistan Zindabad slogan': Zee News producer quits for tampering

[email protected] (Indian Express)
February 21, 2016

New Delhi, Feb 22: A producer with Zee News has resigned from the TV channel after expressing reservations over its “biased coverage” of the JNU protests and the sedition charge against the university's students union leader.

ZeeNews

Vishwa Deepak, an output producer, was part of the team that produced a Zee News show on the night of February 9, when alleged anti-India slogans were raised in the JNU campus during a protest against Parliament convict Afzal Guru's hanging.

Footage telecast on Zee News formed the basis of the Delhi police's suo motu FIR on the incident following which JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested.

In a letter to Zee News on Sunday, Deepak stated that the channel had broadcast a video of students raising slogans with a caption that said Pakistan Zindabad'. “The video which had no “Pakistan Zindabad” slogans in it, we played repeatedly to spread madness. How did we establish that Kanhaiya and his associates were chanting slogans when all we heard were voices coming from the darkness. Our biases made us hear Bhartiya Court Zindabad as Pakistan Zindabad,” stated his letter.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Deepak said Zee News aired footage of students chanting Pakistan Zindabad' repeatedly, but it did not have any such slogans in it. “We heard inaudible slogans from the grainy video. Editors at Zee News felt this sounded like Pakistan Zindabad' and that's the caption we went with,” he said.

Deepak said he scripted shows and edited footage at Zee News. He added that he had worked on the footage of the Afzal Guru event recorded on February 9 in JNU where reporter Pawan Nara was present, recording the event.

Deepak said he received the footage on February 10 and was told to work on it for a show that day.

“On February 10, I was on the morning shift, which comprised a shift head, two second shift heads, three or four producers of which I was one, two or three package producers, and two or three video editors,” said Deepak.

“At the editorial meet that afternoon, a producer was given the video footage and told to work on it because it was a big story'. The producer brought the video to me and I watched it and heard it. The video was grainy and there was a lot of sloganeering but most of which was not clearly audible. I heard Bhartiya Court Zindabad',” he said.

According to Deepak, the producer showed the video to other “responsible” colleagues but none were able to clearly make out the words being chanted.

“Then our editors came down to our section and told us it was a big story, it had to go on air and that Pakistan Zindabad' could be heard. So we all agreed because the editors and other colleagues felt it was Pakistan Zindabad' that was being chanted. We began to produce the show and because the audio was not clear, we added a bubble or blurb with Pakistan Zindabad' written in it to guide our viewers on what we felt was being chanted,” said Deepak.

A graduate of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, Deepak said he worked first as a freelancer contributing to Jansatta and Sanskar. He also worked with news channels News 24, AajTak, News Nation and joined Zee News as a producer in 2014. Deepak has also contributed to BBC Hindi.

When contacted, Zee News Editor Sudhir Chowdhary said Deepak's resignation was an internal matter of the organisation. “Zee media is one of the largest media houses in the country. People leaving and recruitments being done is a normal affair. In any case, the person concerned was not involved in any stories related to the JNU row. He never discussed any issues with anybody in the organisation if he had any. His resignation is an internal matter of the organisation,” said Chowdhary in a text message.

Chowdhary did not respond to questions about Deepak's claims of how the caption Pakistan Zindabad' was added to the footage.

The Indian Express had reported on Saturday that police had asked Zee News for the original camera and memory chip of its telecast of the February 9 event. The request had come just days after questions were raised over the authenticity of another video that was broadcast on other TV news channels and went viral on social media.

The Zee News footage also found mention in an Aam Aadmi Party complaint to Special Commissioner of Police (law and order) Deepak Mishra. The AAP had alleged that students raising slogans of Pakistan Zindabad' were from the ABVP.

JNU ABVP president Alok Singh had earlier said that some ABVP members were present at JNU on February 9, but were shouting slogans like Bharatiya Court Zindabad' and Indian Army Zindabad'. The ABVP also filed a counter complaint with police saying that the footage had been tampered with.

Last week, Chowdhary had said that he stood by the footage aired on Zee News. “The slogans are very clear for anybody to hear. We stand by the footage that was aired on Zee News. We have handed over all the raw footage to the Delhi police,” he had said.

Comments

123
 - 
Monday, 22 Feb 2016

Cheddi Media - They are keeping their Eyes closed and still thinks people are sleeping to their deception.

Mani
 - 
Monday, 22 Feb 2016

Ab Aya oont pahad ke neeche

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News Network
April 15,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 15: A 27-year-old man, who died of breathing problem at Banglagudda in Surathkal, has tested negative for COVID-19.

The entire area was panic-stricken following his death on Tuesday evening. Suspecting COVID-19, his throat swab samples were collected, said Mangaluru North MLA Dr Y Bharath Shetty. Now the test has proved he was negative for coronavirus.

The youth had collapsed suddenly on Tuesday evening and was rushed to a hospital where the doctors declared him brought dead.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Bengaluru, Feb 10: Two Iranian nationals have been arrested by the Karnataka police for allegedly stealing money from car showrooms by diverting cashiers’ attention in Mangaluru, Udupi and Bengaluru.

The arrested are Saeed Rostami, 26 and his friend Saber Hossein Eghbalzadeh, 35, are both residents of Tehran and in India on tourist visa. They were caught by the sleuths of Bengaluru’s RMC Yard police station.

The accused would approach the cashiers, asking for change for Rs 2000 notes to divert their attention and flee with cash from the showroom. 

The duo landed in New Delhi on January 16. Later, they arrived in coastal Karnataka before reaching Bengaluru on February 1. 

The same day around 4pm, the two visited Trident Automobile Pvt Ltd’s service centre in RMC Yard. They went to cashier Kiran and sought change for Rs 2000. One of them dropped the note and Kiran picked it up for him. Meanwhile, Kiran also noticed there was no change in his cash box and informed the duo accordingly. 

“Kiran later realised Rs 44,000 was missing from the cash box. He verified CCTV footage and found the two visitors stole the money when he bent down to pick up the Rs 2000 note,” a police officer said.

Kiran filed a theft and cheating case against the men. RMC Yard police suggested Kiran circulate the footage at other car showrooms and service centres as they had heard about similar incidents being reported from Udupi, Mangaluru and other places in Bengaluru.

“Sharing of CCTV footage helped us nab the suspects. They visited a showroom near Cauvery junction on Ballari Road on February 6. The staff noticed the duo and realised they were the same guys, who had stolen the money at RMC Yard and informed us,” said police.

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News Network
March 27,2020

Kollam, Mar 27: A young IAS officer in Kerala has been booked by police after he left the state violating instructions to remain under home quarantine following his recent return from honeymoon abroad, officials said on Friday.

A First Information Report has been registered against Kollam sub-collector Anupam Mishra, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, based on a report from the Health department about the violation, Kollam Superintendent of Police T Narayanan said.

Describing the action of the officer as a “serious matter”, District Collector B. Abdul Nasser said Mishra had returned to Kerala on March 19 from his Malaysia-Singapore trip and was advised to remain under quarantine, as per the protocol for overseas returnees in the backdrop of coronavirus outbreak.

On his return to Kerala from the foreign trip, Mishra had undergone medical examination and did not show symptoms. His personal staff, including gunman, have also been kept under observation.

However, the officer had left for his brother’s place in Bengaluru without informing anyone, Nasser said.

When the Collector got in touch with him, Mishra informed him that he was in Bengaluru.

“He was on leave after his marriage and took permission to travel to Malaysia and Singapore. On his return I advised him to remain under home quarantine. Seems like he left to be with his family at Bengaluru,” Nasser told PTI.

However, police said Mishra’s mobile tower location shows Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh.

Authorities came to know on Thursday that Mishra, who had been staying alone in his quarters at Kollam, was not there after health department staff, who regularly visit people in quarantine, found the lights in his house switched off, police sources said.

“The officer has gone without prior permission or leave. He did not have any symptoms of the virus. Without informing us, he left. It is a serious matter, the collector said adding Mishra has been asked to provide his current address and travel details to Bengaluru.”

When an officer leaves his jurisdiction, he is supposed to inform the government, which Mishra did not do. He has also not taken prior permission for leaving the state, the later told reporters.

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The state government has sought an explanation from the officer in this regard.

A case has been registered against him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (Negligent Act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 271 (disobedience to quarantine rule), police said.

Kollam, is the only district in the state, which has not reported any positive case of COVID-19 so far. A total of 176 positive cases have been reported in the state so far.

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