The Hindu : CB move to arrest Surya TV reporter

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 29, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Kerala

CB move to arrest Surya TV reporter

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, June 28. The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Crime Branch probing the suspected forgery of a `police intelligence report' detailing the alleged involvement of the Fisheries Minister, K. V. Thomas, in a Rs. 336-crore hawala scam during the 1999-2000 period, has initiated steps to arrest Anil Nambiar, reporter of the Surya TV channel, which first reported the existence of such a document.

The Crime Branch has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against Anil Nambiar at the Chief Judicial Magistrate court here. The main charges in the FIR are forgery, defamation, conspiracy, presenting a false document as genuine one under Sections 466, 469, 471, 500 and 120 (b) of the Indian Penal Code. The FIR (CBCID Crime no: 256/2002) also states "Surya TV staff" as second accused without specifying any name. The Crime Branch (IG) is the complainant in the FIR.

The SIU has moved the court for a legal notice directing the Surya TV management to produce the copy of the alleged intelligence document on the basis of which it had telecast a news report. The SIU has also sought the cassette containing the original recording of the news item.

The Crime Branch officials said the arrest of Anil Nambiar was imperative for getting to the bottom of the alleged forgery case. The department is of the view that the purported intelligence report was fabricated with the intention of maligning the Government. Highly placed Crime Branch officials said there was a larger conspiracy to the entire episode.

The unit was working in close tandem with the police intelligence establishment to achieve a breakthrough in the case. The involvement of more persons in the alleged conspiracy could not be ruled out, an official said. Top officials of the Crime Branch held a brainstorming session at the unit headquarters here today. The Forensic Sciences Laboratory (FSL) had also been roped in to help crack the case, officials said.

Meanwhile, the Crime Branch has officially denied the allegations of the Surya TV management that a raid had been carried out at its regional office. Officials claimed that the SIU team had been despatched to the Surya TV regional office to record the statements of the channel functionaries as per Section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The Crime Branch claimed that the SIU had contacted the Surya functionaries and sought an appointment prior to despatching the officials.

An official said that the questions posed to the general manager, C. Praveen, and the Chief News Editor, N. Sukumaran, were carefully structured. "There was no intimidation or forceful signing of documents. The entire episode has been distorted and blown out of proportion'', an official said. The Crime Branch recorded the statements of the IG (Intelligence), Rajan Madhekar, and the DGP, Hormese Tharakan, in connection with the case. The entire episode has landed the Antony Government in the eye of a storm, with the journalistic community and the Opposition accusing the Government of attempting to "intimidate and cow down'' the Press . The Opposition, claiming to be in possession of a copy of the report purportedly filed by the Director General of Police (Intelligence), had raised the issue in the Assembly and staged a walkout on Tuesday. The Chief Minister had denied the existence of the report on the floor of the House. Mr. Tharakan, who was the DGP(Intelligence) at the time when the intelligence report was allegedly prepared, has denied the existence of such a report. The Police Department, after claiming to have verified official files and file movement registers, reached the conclusion that the purported report was a forged one and fabricated with the intention to malign the Government. The police are of the view that the department seal on the purported document could have been duplicated using the latest photocopying technologies. The absence of any reference or date on the document which was shown on Surya TV has also made the police suspect the bonafides of the document.

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CB move to arrest Surya TV reporter