Haryana journalist faces a case for a story on rotting food grain at a state-run facility

A Hisar-based journalist working with a TV news channel has been booked by the Haryana police under defamation and illegal trespassing for reporting on the State Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Department’s mishandling of food grains at its storage facility.

According to the FIR dated September 8 filed at Uklana police station in Hisar district, the complainant, Assistant Food and Supplies Officer Sandeep Chahal, states that they learnt about the news story on July 18. The complainant further states that the footage shown by journalist Anoop Kundu STV Haryana News was a fake video to defame the department’s reputation and the public image of its officials.

Subsequently, a case has been registered in Hisar district against Anoop under the IPC Sections 451, 465 and 500. The FIR also states that the department higher-ups reached the location to take stock of the situation soon after the story was broadcast and found all the wheat covered and undamaged. The FIR also states that Nagar Parishad Executive Officer, who inspected the stock, also found that all the wheat was properly covered.

The journalist’s version

Anoop, however, has a different version altogether. He says that the video footage and the content shown are genuine as the board on which the department’s name is written is clearly visible. Furthermore, he says when the District Food Supplies Controller came to check the upkeep of wheat on the same day, the officials had shown the wet and damaged wheat to him.

“I have also done a walk-through showing the wet and damaged wheat of the Uklana wheat storage facility and the department officials are very much seen in the video,” he says, contending that the department officials, when caught red-handed and put under pressure after the department minister asked them to explain, tried to cover up the episode by making him a scapegoat.

Anoop says that when the investigating team arrived in the evening, the local department officials got the damaged wheat sacks replaced with dry wheat to evade punitive action against them. “It was such negligence that if proved many heads may have rolled, but they targeted me by ganging up to evade action.” He alleged that an inspector of the civil supplies department had called up and threatened him of dire consequences if he tried to enter their premises without their permission or else he would get him booked. 

Questioning the official inquiry into the case, Anoop says that senior officials of the department constituted a committee and completed their probe within a day. He says they didn’t bother calling him once to record his statement for investigation purposes. “I want to ask the authorities if the wheat procured by government agencies is being rotten in rain and the officials concerned are not doing much about it, then what is a journalist is supposed to do? I took the call to do my duty and have the video footage that proves my case. How can anyone dismiss video footage evidence, wherein all the same officials and the department name are seen?”

Anoop says a letter has been sent to the Press Council of India, and many local journalists have come to his support to give a representation to the local Deputy Commissioner, Haryana, and the Chief Minister to look into the matter based on the evidence on the ground.

News coverage to fix issues

Anoop comes from a family of farmers and has four elder siblings. The 40-year-old has been in the field of journalism for the last seven years. One of Anoop’s recent stories was on the condition of Haryana roadways buses. After his story, the department took off 35 buses from the service because of the poor condition of tyres — 74 pairs of new tyres were purchased to fit in the buses. In December 2017, he broke a story on the nexus of government with private hospitals after a woman was referred to a private hospital by a government nurse. After the story came out, the nurse was terminated from the service and a departmental probe was launched. 

Senior journalists stand by Anoop

Bhaskar Mukherjee, working with a national English daily, says Anoop comes from a modest family background. “Good connections are an asset for a journalist and Anoop is quite good at that. It was shocking to see that a journalist was being penalised for doing his duty. Any hardcore journalist in his place would have done the same,” he adds.

Sajjan Kumar, working with ETV Bharat in Hisar, says that he had seen the raw footage of the ‘rotten wheat’ story for which Anoop was booked. Going by the footage, the allegation of fabricated video does not stand true. He also talks very highly of the roadways story by Anoop. 

Rajesh Kundu, a serious journalist with TV media in Hisar says that in the meeting held at Hisar after the sad episode with Anoop, all journalists met on Thursday and expressed solidarity with him. A memorandum was also handed over to Hisar Additional Deputy Commissioner to probe the matter. They also demand action against the officials who tried to hush up the matter by getting an FIR registered. 

“Anoop Kundu replied to all the queries of journalists who gathered to support him and later a memorandum was given to district administration,” he says.