Rhea Chakraborty | SabrangIndia News Related to Human Rights Tue, 08 Sep 2020 14:09:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.2.2 https://sabrangindia.in/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Favicon_0.png Rhea Chakraborty | SabrangIndia 32 32 Actor Rhea Chakraborty arrested by NCB, but the TV media trail continues to bay for blood https://sabrangindia.in/actor-rhea-chakraborty-arrested-ncb-tv-media-trail-continues-bay-blood/ Tue, 08 Sep 2020 14:09:19 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/09/08/actor-rhea-chakraborty-arrested-ncb-tv-media-trail-continues-bay-blood/ The Sushant Singh Rajput case is being investigated by the Narcotics Control Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate

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India’s premier agency, the Narcotics Control Bureau, explains on its own website as being “set up as apex drug law enforcement agency with view to coordinate actions of various central/state agencies in the matters related with drug law in the country.” Though the data on the massive seizures it has made is yet to be updated since March 2019, the NCB has shown it has done a lot to effectively eliminate drugs from society “by maintaining high professional standards by acting fairly, firmly and impartially” as it states on its website. Its Mission is to, “Prevent and combat abuse and illicit traffic of drugs” and Vision is, “Endeavour for a drug free society.”

In March 2019, it seized hundreds of kilograms of various drugs, such as Khat/Chatt Leaves, Hashish, Opium, Ganja, Heroin, Poppy Straw etc, and arrested scores of criminals connected with international drug mafias at different levels. A comprehensive lists of those arrests can be found here: http://www.narcoticsindia.nic.in/ImportantS/March2019.pdf

However, not many TV channels, or mainstream newspapers seem to have covered those seizures, and lauded the arrests made by the highly specialised agency, which boasts of the best investigative teams. It took the arrest of a Hindi film actor Rhea Chakraborty, on the basis of ‘evidence’ of her chats with alleged ‘drug’ peddlers, for the media to go into a frenzy on Tuesday, September 8. TV anchors tripped over each other, to drive home the point that they had said it first, or had presented “evidence” of a drug angle in the investigations into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The NCB has reportedly stated that it has not found any drugs in Rhea’s possession. However, the actor has been arrested in Mumbai after three days of questioning. According to an NDTV report, the NCB started its inquiries based on WhatsApp chats retrieved from Rhea Chakraborty’s phone, which revealed alleged conversations around procuring drugs, allegedly for Sushant Singh Rajput, her partner.

The report adds that the NCB will not seek her custody during an online court hearing later this evening. It will be the court which will decide whether to grant her bail. According to NDTV’s sources Chakraborty “admitted to organising drugs for the Bollywood star and also using them at times, during hours of questioning”.

However, Rajput’s fans are seeing this as some kind of a ‘victory’ in the investigation into the actor’s unnatural death. Chakraborty’s media trial continues, and she is being painted as already being guilty of multiple crimes. The fact that investigations are still continuing is irrelevant as most watched TV anchors make it about their own ‘investigations’.

Case in point a jubilant Navika Kumar of Times Now who has claimed most credit so far, “Drug Chats first reported by me on @TimesNow. Even as the CBI & ED were investigating. @dir_ed handed the narcotics investigation to @narcoticsbureau. ‘Smelt’ the story first…”

 

India Today Groups’s Rajdeep Sardesai too lauded NCB with a ‘namaste’ emoji and posted, “… So what CBI, ED, Bihar police could not do, NCB has done..”

 

While a cryptic tweet “#GodIsWithUs” by Rajput’s sister Shweta Singh Kirti went viral with over 10 thousand retweets soon after it was posted.

 

In sharp contrast, Rhea Chakraborty’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde has said she’s being hounded for “being in love with a drug addict”. He called her arrest ‘travesty of justice’, reported The Hindustan Times (HT). As is protocol Chakraborty was taken for a medical examination after being arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau, and, as expected the media gave chase, reading into her expressions, and dissecting the anti-patriarchy slogan printed on her tee shirt.

 

The fact that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a coalition partner in the state government in Bihar – polls are due here later this here – is taking unashamed interest in this particular case is not insignificant. Rajya Sabha member and controversial politician. Subramanian Swamy had this to say, six days ago, “Shake down Vishkanya Rhea we will get the plot of drugging SSR and murder. For that custodial interrogation required. Which means she will be arrested soon. The big unravelling for the national interest is smashing of the narcotics network,” he demanded in a social media post. And then went on to say similar things to the TV anchors conducting the ‘investigation’. Among other things, she has been called “Vishkanya” or poisonous woman, a phrase that once belonged to tacky film scripts of the 80s, but now even used personalities such as senior politician lawyer Subramanian Swamy. In the India of today, where extreme sentiments are the norm, witch-hunting has been made to appear cool.

Today, the day of her arrest, news agencies quote Rhea’s lawyer as stating that, “three central agencies hounding a single woman just because she was in love with a drug addict who was suffering from mental health issues for several years and died by suicide due to consumption of illegally administered medicines, drugs.” According to the HT report Rhea is the prime accused in the death of Sushant Singh Rajput and is being investigated by the NCB along with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED).

When she was arrested by the NCB during their investigation into the drugs angle of the case, the news was confirmed by agency’s deputy director KPS Malhotra. Confirming the news, he said, “Rhea has been arrested and due process of informing the family has been completed.” She had earlier been questioned by the NCB on Sunday and Monday, for hours on end. She was arrested on the third day of questioning. Her brother, Showik Chakraborty, was arrested by the NCB last week.  Sushant Singh Rajput had died on June 14, allegedly by suicide.

His family had alleged that he may have been given psychotropic drugs by Rhea, and that he had mental health issues before he met her. Republic TV and portal went a step ahead and reported that a 2009 tweet by Rhea Chakraborty where she wrote, “Just stepped out of a weird scary engrossing story of an Indian girl ….who served 4 n a half year jail sentence for narcotic trafikking. [sic]” had resurfaced and gone viral. According to TV channels “she was consuming not just marijuana, but also hard drugs.”  They attribute this to unnamed “sources”.

Most have called this arrest as ‘justice for Sushant’, when, according to news reports that quote Rhea’s alleged statement the drugs were procured for Sushant’s consumption, thus making him a user, and a possible co accused if he was still alive. The fans, however, do not care. The anti-Rhea witch hunt continues, because the reporters are ‘investigating’ the case, and focusing their cameras on anyone who has an opinion on it, non-stop, giving extra time to  elements like “black magic” too.

 

Social media today was not all one-sided, however. Women from Kashmir to the south, and from different professions, however, tweeted their disgust at this brazen witch-hunt.

Shehla Rashid, socio-political activist made an interesting observation. “Hey

@Tweet2Rhea I’m not sure if you are reading this, but be strong. Not everyone here believes the media propaganda; they have little credibility. Unfortunately, you’ve become an unlikely pawn in a political game. But this too shall pass. Perhaps as soon as the Bihar election.”

 

To which there was an astute reply, “Yes! However, Brahmanism is not kind to upper-caste women who transgress the norms of sexual morality encoded in caste endogamy. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that she’s being targeted by the family of her deceased partner’s family who’ve now unleashed a lynch mob on her”

Well known journalist, Supriya Sharma, was sharp in her observations, “Surreal times. India faces threat of war and economic collapse. But the news is obsessing over a few grams of marijuana. Mass scale smoking up.”

 

And here is Rohini Singh, “One of the most disappointing persons in the #RheaChakraborty matter has been West Bengal CM @MamataOfficial. She was silent when Rhea was vilified for being Bengali, silent when a young woman was harassed and lynched. Leaders lead. They don’t follow the mob.”

 

Nothing summed it better than Simi Grewal, the gracious doyen of Indian cinema, replying to Rohini Singh and Farah Khan, “ And considering it is legal & decriminalized in 26 countries!! But when there is a witch hunt – sanity is the first casualty.”

 

Related: 

Guilty as charged: Investigators, judge, jury and executioners of TV news ‘debates’
Social media hate machine goes into overdrive against Rhea Chakraborty
Not fair to label those with mental illness as ‘weak’
Media, right-wing spew venom over Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

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]]> Guilty as charged: Investigators, judge, jury and executioners of TV news ‘debates’ https://sabrangindia.in/guilty-charged-investigators-judge-jury-and-executioners-tv-news-debates/ Wed, 02 Sep 2020 05:16:45 +0000 http://localhost/sabrangv4/2020/09/02/guilty-charged-investigators-judge-jury-and-executioners-tv-news-debates/ Media continues witch hunt and character assassination of actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s partner Rhea Chakraborty, even as case is still under official investigation

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Investigations probing Sushant Singh Rajput’s death have three central agencies working on multiple leads. However, for over two months now, the frenzied mobs of television news reporters, egged on by their bosses helming prime time shows, are hounding anything that moves around the building where Singh’s partner, actor Rhea Chakraborty lives. Egged on, sometimes on live TV,  by those anchoring ‘investigations’, and hosting pretend ‘trials’ on prime time TV, these reporters are seen haranguing any visitor to the housing complex, demanding answers to absurd questions. It is a given that the news anchors and their reporters have declared actor Rhea Chakraborty guilty of somehow causing the death of her partner, actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The official investigation agencies, however, have made no such allegations.

Among other things, she has been called “Vishkanya” or poisonous woman, a phrase that once belonged to  tacky film scripts of the 80s, but now even used by eminent personalities such as senior politician lawyer Subramanian Swamy. “Shake down Vishkanya Rhea we will get the plot of drugging SSR and murder. For that custodial interrogation required. Which means she will be arrested soon. The big unravelling for the national interest is smashing of the narcotics network,” he demanded in a social media post. And then went on to say similar things to the TV anchors conducting the ‘investigation’. 

 

 

Investigations into various aspects of Sushant Singh Rajput’s death are now officially being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), India’s national investigation agency, which it was tasked to do by the Supreme Court of India on August 19. Later the Narcotics Control Bureau, national drug law enforcement agency and the  Enforcement Directorate, the national economic law enforcement intelligence agency joined to investigate specific angles that emerged. None of that seems to make a difference to India’s leading television ‘journalists’, from carrying on a parallel investigations, often streaming, and screaming live on TV debates.

Thirty-four-year old Sushant Singh Rajput died, allegedly by suicide on June 14, and by July 25, his father KK Rajput and the family, had filed a first information report in Patna, his hometown, allegedly accusing Rhea Chakraborty and five others, of abetment to suicide. the death. For months now, multiple non experts have since then spewed half baked opinions on everything ranging from mental health issues, post mortem investigations, nepotism, drugs, and even witchcraft.

The unofficial investigation by the media, who have chosen to ignore issues of national concern such as rising cases of Covid-19, floods, starvation deaths, murders, and even the national economic crisis, and instead have decided to shred a woman’s character for the voyeuristic audiences. The media trail is illegal, and unethical to say the least. The Press Council of India in fact issued a media advisory on August 28. It has asked the media “to adhere to the Norms of Journalistic conduct in covering cases under Investigation.”

According to the PCI statement, it has “noted with distress that coverage of the alleged suicide by a Film actor by many media outlets is in violation of the Norms of Journalistic Conduct and, therefore, advises the Media to adhere to the Norms framed by the Press Council of India”. It added that “ the Media should not narrate the story in a manner so as to induce the general public to believe in the complicity of the person indicted. Publishing information based on gossip about the line of investigation by the official agencies on the crime committed is not desirable. It is not advisable to vigorously report crime related issues on a day to day basis and comment on the evidence without ascertaining the factual matrix. Such reporting brings undue pressure in the course of fair investigation and trial.”

The PCI also advised media houses to “refrain from giving excessive publicity to the victim, witnesses, suspects and accused as it will amount to invasion of their privacy rights. Identification of witnesses by the Media needs to be avoided as it endangers them to come under pressure from the accused or his associates as well as investigating agencies.”

It has unequivocally advised the media “not to conduct its own parallel trial or foretell the decision to avoid pressure during investigation and trial.” According to the PCI, the “reporting of the alleged suicide by the actor by some of the newspapers is also in violation of the norms formulated by the Council for reporting on suicide.”  The PCI norms clearly prohibit publishing stories about suicide prominently “and advises the media not to unduly repeat such stories. The media is expected not to use language which sensationalise or normalises suicides or presents it as a constructive solution to the problems. The Media is advised not to use sensational headlines or use photographs, video-footage or social media links while reporting on suicide cases.”

However, all of the above violations continue to be done by many mainstream media houses. Most continue to victimise and attack Rhea Chakraborty, and only two media houses, NDTV, and India Today, gave her a platform to air her side of the story. The others, prominently Republic TV, and Times Now, continue to project her as one of the prime suspects, and alleged that there are political connections in the case, as well as the involvement of the ‘drug’ mafia as well.

Taking note of this escalating situation, the Network of Women in Media, India, (NWMI) has strongly denounced the media trial being carried out by a section of TV news channels in the Sushant Singh Rajput case. The NWMI reiterates that the “coverage of the case smacks of crass sensationalism and voyeurism, with TV news channels setting up kangaroo courts to declare individuals guilty even as an investigation is ongoing.”

It notes that “each day brings with it a new low in TV news channels’ coverage, from leaking private chats to making fact-free insinuations to splashing triggering images of the deceased.”  The NWMI stated that while it upholds the media’s right to cover a case, in the public interest, with relevant facts, the “reporting should be carried out respecting journalistic norms of fairness, balance, impartiality and factual accuracy. The media must be mindful of its power to shape public opinion and remain alert and responsible in its reportage.”

The NWMI has made the following demands from the media fraternity:

1: End the media trial of Rhea Chakraborty and let investigating authorities do their job freely and fairly. There is currently a complaint against Chakraborty that three investigating authorities are probing. Journalists cannot and must not call for her arrest before the agencies finish their probe. It should be noted that at this juncture of the investigation — when there is not even a chargesheet in place — journalists cannot declare individuals guilty.

2. Respect the privacy of individuals involved in the case, including that of Sushant Singh Rajput. It is distressing to find channels leaking out details of his mental health when these details are clearly not meant for public consumption.

3. Report responsibly on issues of mental health. According to The Lancet, 197·3 million Indians suffer from mental health issues, including 45·7 million with depressive disorders and 44·9 million with anxiety disorders. In such a scenario, the media plays a huge role in shaping society’s response to mental health issues. It is extremely irresponsible for channels to make erroneous statements on depression and its symptoms. TV news anchors should immediately stop the guesswork on the state of Sushant Singh Rajput’s mental health and let agencies carry out their probes. In the meantime, news anchors are requested to use their reach to start a responsible dialogue on mental health issues with doctors and experts in the field. 

4. Several conspiracy theories from social media are making their way to primetime news. Journalists must carry out due diligence and not mindlessly give space to conspiracy theories from social media. 

5. Videos emerging from around Rhea Chakraborty’s apartment complex in Mumbai bear testimony to how news reporters from some news channels have turned into full-time harassers. A delivery man and a guard at the apartment complex were relentlessly hounded by reporters, who made a mockery of the exercise of news gathering. Editors and proprietors should note that they are party to this degeneration of TV news as a medium, and restore basic human decency to the profession.

However, none of that seems to have made an impact on TV news channels yet, for whom, even badly reported news is good news as long as it gets them views. 

 

 

Related: 

Not fair to label those with mental illness as ‘weak’
Media, right-wing spew venom over Sushant Singh Rajput’s death

The post Guilty as charged: Investigators, judge, jury and executioners of TV news ‘debates’ appeared first on SabrangIndia.

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