New Delhi: The India Today group on Wednesday sent a legal notice to the website ‘Cobrapost’ over its recently released sting operation called ‘operation 136’.
The India Today notice raises strong objections to videos released under Operation 136 -II on Cobrapost website. “The videos are illegal and violate the basic tenets of fair reporting and ethical journalism. The videos appear to be manipulated and edited in a manner so as to create a false impression in the eyes of the viewer. This false impression is further created by commentary from your own reporter, which has no connection to what has been said in the video,” reads the notice.
“In case Cobrapost failed to remove the said content, appropriate legal action will be initiated against the website and its promoters,” added the India Today notice.
Journalist Pushp Sharma, who posed as one Acharya Chhatrapal Atal and claimed he was linked to various saffron groups in the sting. Media reports claim that he was also arrested by Delhi Police in 2009 for extorting money from government officials after staging road accidents and carrying out fake sting operations. More specifically, he was caught red-handed by a Delhi Police raiding party on 17 November, 2009 while receiving Rs 10,000 cash as extortion amount from a police head constable.
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