A special court in Haryanas Gurugram has formally charged eight media professionals, including renowned anchors Deepak Chaurasia, Chitra Tripathi, Ajit Anjum, Md Sohail, and Rashid Hashmi, in connection with a case filed back in 2013 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.The charges revolve around allegations of broadcasting manipulated, edited, and indecent videos involving a minor girl and her family members. These videos were reportedly linked to a sexual abuse case concerning self-proclaimed spiritual leader Asaram Bapu.The accused media individuals – the seven anchors, and Sunil Dutt, Lalit Singh Badhujar, and Abhinav Raj – are facing charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Information Technology (IT) Act, and the POCSO Act. The charges include criminal conspiracy, forgery, online child abuse, and indecent or obscene representation of a child, among others.The accused individuals have pleaded not guilty to the charges and have opted for a trial, as stated in the order issued by Additional Sessions Judge Shashi Chauhan. The order, which was dated August 25, was made available to the public on Monday.What is the 2013 POCSO case aboutThe case stems from a complaint filed by a relative of a minor child on December 15, 2013. The complaint alleged that three news channels – News24, India News, and News Nation – aired morphed and explicit videos.These videos, described as edited and obscene, featured a 10-year-old child and her family and were associated with the sexual assault case involving self-styled Asaram Bapu. The charge sheet for the case was filed in 2020 and 2021.Notably, one of the charges under section 23 of the POCSO Act pertains to the accused “vulgarly and indecently” portraying the victim by manipulating and distorting the video.2013 POCSO case: Who are the accused media personnelAmong the accused, three – Ajit Anjum, anchor Md Sohail, and Jodhpur reporter Sunil Dutt – were associated with News24 at the time of the videos broadcast. Of them, Anjum has moved on from News24, while Sohail, also known as Syed Suhail, currently serves as an anchor with Republic Bharat.The remaining five accused were linked to India News – editor-in-chief Chaurasia, anchors Tripathi and Rashid Hashmi, Jodhpur reporter Lalit Singh Badgurjar, and producer Abhinav Raj. Chaurasia now works as a consulting editor and anchor with Zee News, while Tripathi is associated with Aaj Tak, and Hashmi serves as executive editor at India News.
