Over the last few days, almost all the mainstream media channels have been racing against one another to provide ‘exclusive’ updates in relation to the probe being carried out by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in the alleged drug angle in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case. The NCB has summoned some of the top names of Bollywood after their ‘drug chats’ emerged. This has led to TV news channels chasing on the roads the cars of celebrities reaching the NCB office to answer the summons, or returning after their questioning by NCB.
The chasing cars of celebrities had begun with the CBI probe in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case, when the cars of Rhea Chakraborty and others summoned by CBI were chased by some TV channels to give minute by minute updates. Now that CBI is silently probing the case and NCB is questioning big names in the drug angle, the car chase has increased with more channels joining the race, literally.
But now Mumbai Police have decided that enough is enough, and have said that they will no longer allow cars belonging to media houses to chase celebrities called for questioning. Sangram Singh Nishandar, the DCP of Zone 1 of the Mumbai police, announced that they have decided to seize the media vehicles which are found chasing the cars of celebrities, who are summoned by investigating agencies, for endangering the lives of people on the road along with their own lives.
Today we have observed a lot of media vehicles chasing people who were called for the inquiry. The vehicles will be seized because they are endangering their lives as well as lives of whoever was called & common people: Sangram Singh Nishandar, DCP Zone 1, Mumbai Police. pic.twitter.com/1q69kPrrgc
— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2020
More channels join the car chase race
As the probe in the alleged Bollywood drug syndicate is progressing, the media channels are competing against one another to bring out the ‘first’ or the ‘latest’ updates in the case. Interestingly, some of the media channels like India Today and NDTV, which were earlier condemning the ‘media trial‘ of the celebrities by channels like Time Now and Republic TV, calling that media circus, are now themselves adopting every possible tactic from interviewing the prime accused in the case to chasing cars of celebrities on the roads to catch up with their competitors in the rating game.
Yesterday, NDTV was seen following Rokul Preet Singh in her on her way to NCB for questioning, an act the journalists of the channel were mocking earlier when done by other channels.
Today NDTV was seen reporting live from the NCB where actress Deepika Padukone was called for questioning.
Watch | Actor #DeepikaPadukone arrives for questioning at S.I.T. guest house#DrugProbe pic.twitter.com/D7UJFmO5aq
— NDTV (@ndtv) September 26, 2020
NDTV camera were also present in front of Sara Ali Khan’s house to report when she left to answer NCB questions.
Similarly, India Today has been tracking the movement of the actress since the day she was to leave from Goa for Mumbai after she was summoned. Yesterday, India Today reporters chashed Deepika Padukone on her way to airport in Goa, as seen in the below video posted by the channel.
Interestingly, while the India Today journalists were giving ‘exclusive’ updates of Deepika Padukone reaching Goa airport, they actually ended up chasing a wrong car believing it to be Padukone’s. Later, in the evening they reported that actress whose car they believed they were chasing in the day had not even left from the hotel as yet.
