Sting Operation

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Sting Operation

• Presented By- K.Shekhar
• Piya Bhattacharya.

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What is it?

• Operations designed to catch a person committing
  a crime by means of deception.
• Also known as
• Investigative Journalism
• Undercover Journalism

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• Sting Operations are often defined as information
  gathering exercises.
• Exercises which expose corruption and misdeeds of
  people in power.

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The Indian Scenario

• The practice began some years ago tiny cameras
  hidden in handbags or pens of journalists that
  intruded into the dark recesses of homes and
  offices of people of consequence to bring out
  elements of truth that rocked the whole nation.
• Cricketers who fixed matches, defence personnel
  on the take and politicians who had no qualms
  stuffing money into their drawers were the first
  lot of people to fall prey to the covert
  operation.

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TEHELKA!!!

• Tehelka is an Indian weekly magazine under the
  editorship of Tarun Tejpal.
• Started the trend of hidden cameras to carry out
  sting operations.
• Instrumental in exposing important cases of
  corruption and misdeeds of the high and mighty.

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Impact stories

• Operation West End 2001
• Targeted several members of the then ruling
  coalition, the National Democratic Alliance,
  headed by BJPs Atal Behari Vajpayee. It showed
  several political figures, as well as army top
  brass, colluding to take bribes in order to
  approve defence contracts.

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• Gujarat Riots - October 2007
• Tehelka published the findings of an elaborate,
• 6-month long investigation into the 2002
  Gujarat Riots that followed the burning of a
  passenger train carrying Hindu pilgrims. Dubbed
  Operation Kalank, the sting claimed to show that
  the riots were not a spontaneous Hindu backlash
  in response to the Godhra train burning incident,
  but an organised pogrom carried out in full
  knowledge and sanction of Gujarat state
  government

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• After Supreme Court recently denounced sting
  operations as money-making ventures.
• A Bill, slated to be considered by Parliament
  has been designed to overhaul the existing
  Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill and
  proposes to arm the central government with
  powers to even cancel the licence of broadcasters
  in the public interest.
• Though there has been no progress in this matter,
  many see this as an effort by the high and mighty
  to clip the wings of investigative journalists in
  an attempt to safeguard their own interests.

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Sting in India Some Cases.

• April 2008 The Indian Hockey Federation.
• The then Indian Hockey Federation secretary
  k.Jyotikumaran was caught on camera accepting a
  bribe from a journalist to include a player into
  the team for the Azlan Shah Tournament.
• Following which he was removed and a new
  committee was set up.

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• June 2008 The Cash for Vote Scam.
• CNN IBN captured BJP leaders on camera
• (hidden of course) admitting to accepting bribe
  from Samajvadi Party members during the trust
  vote.
• The tapes were not broadcasted, but never the
  less sparked off a controversy.

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False Sting operation.

• Delhi 2007
• On August 30th ,Uma Khurana a school teacher from
  Delhi, lost her job, faced a violent mob and
  spent a week in jail after a sting operation
  claimed she lured students into the flesh trade.
• On September 10th a Delhi Court granted her bail
  saying she was a victim.

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What can be done?

• Introduction of a clause to address sting
  operations in the broadcasting bill.
• Journalists should determine who benefits from
  such reporting.
• The Legislation must govern the conduct of the
  media.
• Authorities should make sure that news reporting
  does not become a means of commercial gain.

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Lets deliberate

• Cant we do without sting operations?
• To what extent should the media go to keep a
  citizen informed?
• Do we need stringent laws to keep a check on such
  activities?

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• THANK YOU