Wondering why top anchors were spotted at a POCSO court? Unravelling the 2013 case against them
Deepak Chaurasia, Chitra Tripathi and others are among those accused for broadcasting ‘edited’, ‘obscene’ videos of a child and linking them to Asaram Bapu’s rape case.
A group of TV journalists emerged from a special POCSO court in Gurugram on June 6. They ducked their heads, ignoring questions being hurled at them from media personnel: “How come you are in the court, sir? For which case are you here? People want to know...On TV, they keep shouting but here, they are not uttering a word.”
Among the TV journalists were former News24 managing editor Ajit Anjum, Aaj Tak anchor Chitra Tripathi, and former News Nation anchor Deepak Chaurasia.
They are among eight people chargesheeted in 2020 and 2021 for airing “edited”, “obscene” videos of a 10-year-old child and her family in 2013, and linking the video to the sexual assault case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu. In the first and supplementary chargesheets, the police claimed that arresting the accused would lead to a “law and order” situation.
Subscribe now to unlock the story
Why should I pay for news?
Independent journalism is not possible until you pitch in. We have seen what happens in ad-funded models: Journalism takes a backseat and gets sacrificed at the altar of clicks and TRPs.
Stories like these cost perseverance, time, and resources. Subscribe now to power our journalism.
- Access to paywall stories
- Access to NL Chatbox
- Access to subscriber-only events, including The Media Rumble and NL Recess
- Access to podcast RSS links to listen to our paywall podcasts in apps like Apple and Google Podcasts
- Access to NL Baithak
₹ 300
Monthly₹ 3000
AnnualAlready a subscriber? Login