It's not truth but the 'chai biscuit' insult that led to fight-

All the fights have two sides, they say! Then why not consider the real side of the 'media fight' that happened to entertain the audiences more than the stories they make. The media circus around the Sushant Singh Rajput case reached its nadir yesterday with Republic Bharat editor Pradeep Bhandari getting slapped outside the Narcotics Control Bureau office in Mumbai’s Colaba. This was preceded by Bhandari insulting and offending other journalists, some shoving, and then hapless policemen trying to call a truce. And why would not the 'Bhakts' turn off their learnings?

 

 

The incident marked yet another chapter in the ugliness that has underscored much of TV news reporting on the investigation into Rajput’s death in June. Pradeep Bhandari, the CEO Jan Ki Baat has a history of being provocative, loud— but does that excuse assaulting anyone? Well, let's see! The media had gathered to cover the drug nexus that has come up in the context of the SSR death probe. At around 9 am, designer Simone Khambata entered the office to be questioned, and the assembled reporters and camera crews crowded near the gate to get visuals. We all know how Republic TV anchors report live, jumping here and there, loud on the mics. The reason being the NDTV reporter requested Bhandari not to enter the frame of his camera.

 

The Republic reporter went live already by then from the spot, so loud that anyone could hear him even from 25 metres away. During his live, he said, "Abhi abhi Simone Khambata andar gayin hai aur hum aapko de rahe hain khabar, chai-biscuit wale patrakar aapko khabar nahi denge, hum aapko denge khabar.” Bhandari reportedly happened to gesture towards other journalists as he spoke, and once again intruded into the NDTV journalist’s frame. The NDTV reporter walked towards him and told him yet again. Other journalists, who were offended with Bhandari’s ‘chai-biscuit’ comments, thought the NDTV reporter was approaching Bhandari to raise objections to these remarks. So, since everybody was offended, all of them walked towards Bhandari. Here’s when it got confusing. Bhandari and other journalists began hurling abuses, culminating in one of them slapping Bhandari.

 

Bhandari thought the NDTV reporter charged towards him. One of the journalist present there, narrating the incident online said that the NDTV reporter had a good image and that he was not a guy who would charge towards someone to assault. Bhandari has a history of insulting and taking digs at journalists in the past. "You guys cannot do anything. You guys should leave", Pradeep was heard saying to the NDTV reporter. Why would someone not lose his cool then? In a live segment that we watched yesterday on Republic Bharat at around 11 am, you definitely could hear Bhandari refer to journalists as “chai-biscuit” journalists. He goes on to say: “Republic Media ke saath sacchai ka samundar hai, inke saath drugs ka samundar hai...janta ne sacchai ke samundar ko choose kiya hai...yeh fuddu kya bataenge.”

 

 

The journalist who slapped Bhandari spoke to the news agency yesterday. His name is Vindo Jagdale, and he is a News24 journalist and the president of the TV Journalists Association. Contrary to social media chatter, Jagdale is neither from ABP News nor NDTV. “He went live and said the NDTV reporter was frustrated, that he comes here to eat chai-biscuits,” Jagdale said. “I went and asked him to behave, and he began hurling abuses at me. After that, I slapped him.” Acknowledging his mistake, Jagdale said that Bhandari has been insulting other reporters for the past couple of months. “He used objectionable language against other journalists. I don’t believe in getting into fights with people of my own fraternity or any helpless person. But he has crossed all limits", he confessed to the agency.

 

Pradeep Bhandari did not however respond for comment. On Twitter, he hit out at "gunda journalists who tried to lynch me". He also accused journalists from NDTV and ABP News of attacking him in an attempt to stop him from speaking the truth. Late on Thursday evening, a non-cognizable complaint was filed against Bhandari at Colaba police station. The complaint was submitted by Jagdale, while NDTV's Saurabh Gupta and ABP reporter Manoj Verma were witnesses in the complaint. The complaint said Bhandari repeatedly came into the camera frames of Jagdale, Gupta and Verma. The complaint claimed that when Jagdale requested Bhandari not to do so, Bhandari allegedly grabbed him by his collar and pushed him, began abusing him, and then slapped him. The complaint also accused Bhandari of pushing Gupta and Verma and abusing them.