Just when one thinks that Indian journalism has reached its absolute nadir and it cannot go any lower, mainstream news organisations defy our expectations and stoops further low. There have been several incidents when media organisations have resorted to peddling fake news, pushing their propaganda and even shielding the culprits. However, Dainik Bhaskar has gone a step further as it falsely incriminated an innocent person by using their picture in its report regarding the arrest of TV actor Preetika in a drugs case.
The Narcotics Control Bureau arrested TV actor Preetika Chauhan and a man from Versova for allegedly possessing marijuana. The arrests were made in the drug nexus case under which so far 24 people have been arrested by the agency. About 99 grams of ganja was recovered from Preetika and the man named Faisal. Both were arrested and produced before the court.
The report of the arrest was also published in the newspaper version of Dainik Bhaskar. However, what caught the attention of social media users was the photo of a NITian Anita Bharti being used in place of TV actor Preetika Chauhan.
The matter was highlighted by a Twitter user who goes by the handle @BefittingFacts, who lambasted the media organisation for defaming Anita Bharti by using her photo instead of TV actor Preetika Chauhan caught in a drugs case.
.@DainikBhaskar (MP) using an IITian Anita Bharti’s picture in a drug related case in which an actress called Pritika Chauhan is arrested. Gutter level journalism by Dainik Bhaskar. @ChouhanShivraj pic.twitter.com/iP7Y86wZQ7
— Facts (@BefittingFacts) October 26, 2020
Dainik Bhaskar did not bother to check if the photo that it is publishing for its report on a TV actor arrested in the drugs case actually belonged to the arrested actor Preetika Chauhan or not. The incident highlights the criminal negligence of the news organisation to not verifying the picture of the actor before publishing it and defaming an innocent person by using their picture instead.
Anita Bharti recently launched a portal for providing free tuitions to needy students
Anita Bharti is currently pursuing a degree in Electrical Engineering from NIT Patna. Recently, Anita was in the news after she and her sibling, Abhishek, came up with the idea of helping needy students during the pandemic.
With lockdown being enforced in the country and uncertainty over the reopening of schools and other educational institutes, Abhishek and Anita thought of providing free tuition to the students from 7th to 12th grade. A free website called ‘TuOn‘ was created where interested students could go and apply for the subjects for which they want the tuition.
Besides the free tuitions for the students from 7th to 12th standard, the website also provides free coaching for competitive exams like JEE, Physics, Chemistry, Olympiad for Maths and NTSE (Talent Search). When the idea was shared by Anita and Abhishek with others, they also joined the duo in educating the students in need of tutors. As of now, about 25 students from various IITs and NITs have joined the initiative of providing free coaching to needy students. Right now, 50 students have enrolled themselves for taking free tuition.
