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Sameer Wankhede – The battle has become BJP vs Maha Vikas Aghadi

October 29, 2021

Now BJP has decided to support Sameer Wankhede and his family openly. Therefore, on the occasion of Sameer Wankhede, a match will be played between BJP and Maha Vikas Aghadi. Sameer Wankhede, divisional director of the Bureau of Narcotics Control, is facing various charges in the Aryan Khan drugs case. NCP leader Nawab Malik is continuously making serious allegations against him.

BJP Mumbai president Mangal Prabhat Lodha and BJP OBC Morcha president Narendra Gawkar said, “The demonstrations will be held under the chairmanship of BJP has decided to support Sameer Wankhede and his family. Therefore, on the occasion of Sameer Wankhede, a match will be played between BJP and Maha Vikas Aghadi. BJP is going to protest in Mumbai tomorrow.”

BJP leader Kirit Somaiya met Sameer Wankhede’s wife Kranti Redkar, Dnyandev Wankhede and Yasmin Wankhede. It is learned that the meeting took place at Bandra. BJP leader Kirit Somaiya has also tweeted about this meeting. ‘We are distressed by the allegations made by Nawab Malik. I strongly condemn the tweets of Nawab Malik and the defamation of these families, ‘said Kirit Somaiya. He further stated that ‘what is the need for this parallel inquiry while senior NCB officials are investigating the allegations against the Cruise Drugs Party and Sameer Wankhede in general?

Presenting such a question, Wankhede also asked the High Court to hand over the investigation of the complaints to the CBI or other central investigative agencies. Wankhede also alleged that a minister in the state government was deliberately targeting him to settle his personal grievances.

Minority Minister Nawab Malik has accused Sameer Wankhede, who is probing the Mumbai cruise drugs case, of getting the job through a fake certificate. Following the allegations of Nawab Malik, Sameer Wankhede has issued his father and his caste certificate. In the caste certificate, Sameer’s father is from the Mehr caste.

Which comes in SC. Sameer Wankhede shared caste certificate, genealogy, birth certificate, Kotwali register copy, family photo and said that he did not tamper with any documents. BJP’s Ashish Shelar made harsh criticism on Nawab Malik stating that “If Nawab Mallik says Picture abhi baki hai, I want to say Chal hava aane de (Let the breeze flow).”

Malik had also made a sensational allegation that the party on the cruise was organized by Kashif Khan and Sameer Wankhede did not take any action against organisers. Apart from this, Kashif Khan has also answered allegations made by Malik.

Fashion TV has also clarified that it has nothing to do with the Cordelia Cruise Drugs Party case. The party was not held on a cruise, Fashion TV said. We are the title sponsor of the show on Cruise. Fashion TV has also said that it has nothing to do with the people who came on the cruise. Fashion TV has also said that it will cooperate with the investigation agencies in this whole case.

The bearded Kashif Khan is the head of Fashion TV. Kashif Khan trades in porn in the name of fashion. He is a friend of Sameer Wankhede. Minister Nawab Malik has accused Sameer Wankhede of preventing him from taking action against Kashif Khan. He also said that now Sameer Wankhede is scared. As soon as Aryan got bail yesterday, Nawab Malik had given a warning by tweeting, “Picture is yet to come, my friend”.

Malik said that there was a conspiracy by Wankhede to discredit Maharashtra. The BJP leader stood behind Sameer Wankhede. Big BJP leaders are going to the NCB office. I’m not naming names today; I’m going to talk about it in the winter session. He also said that BJP’s brass will be exposed after the arrest of Kashif Khan.

HC grants bail to Aryan Khan with conditions; will have to appear before NCB every Friday, surrender passport

Afternoon Voice

October 29, 2021

aryan khan, khan, aryan, ncb, court, bombay high court, bail, aryan, aryan khan bail, arbaaz, merchant — Image: ANI

The Bombay High Court on Friday issued the detailed order with bail conditions for Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha — arrested in the drugs-on-cruise case. In the detailed order, the Bombay High Court asked Aryan and the two others to surrender their passports to Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) court, and not leave the country without permission from the special court.

“Each accused be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with one or more sureties of like amount,” the bail order said. The court asked all three applicants to appear before the NCB Mumbai office every Friday, between 11.00 am to 2.00 pm to mark their presence.

Aryan’s bail order stated that “he should not indulge in any similar activities, not try to establish contact with co-accused” and should not make any statement regarding the court proceedings before media. Earlier today, Advocate Satish Maneshinde, who is representing Aryan Khan said that he will be out of jail by today evening.

On Thursday, Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha were granted bail by the court yesterday the hearing of three days in the case.

Why NCB didn’t take action against person who organised Mumbai cruise party? asks Minister Nawab Malik

Afternoon Voice

October 29, 2021

Maharashtra Minister Nawab Malik on Friday asked that why the action was not initiated against Kashif Khan, a senior executive of Fashion TV, who had allegedly organised the rave party in Mumbai Cruise ship on October 2.

The Maharashtra Cabinet Minister alleged Khan was let off by NCB Zonal Director Sameer Wankhede because he is probably a friend of Wankhede.

Addressing a press conference, Malik said, “Almost a month ago, a person (Kiran Gosavi) who was involved in arresting an innocent youth is now behind the bars. Another person (Sameer Wankhede) who was leading the raid is now knocking doors of the court, requesting to transfer the case investigated by the Mumbai Police to CBI or NIA.” He added, “Now the situation has completely changed in a month time.”

#NawabMalik says, "I've been saying conspiracy to defame Maharashtra govt & people are being executed via Wankhede. It's a BJP conspiracy. Yogi wants a Film City in Noida. It's their misconception if they think 'UPwood' will come up by defaming #Bollywood" https://t.co/vb0jytbqSb

— Afternoon Voice (@Afternoon_Voice) October 29, 2021

The Mumbai Police have given assurance that Wankhede would be provided 3-days’ notice before his arrest, said Malik. The Minister also claimed that he never personally attacked Wankhede’s mother and he has high regard for his mother and wife.

After the Bombay High Court announced bail for Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha, Malik had put out a tweet, saying “Picture Abhi Baki Hai Mere Dost”. Aryan Khan was arrested on October 3. An NCB team busted an alleged drugs party on the Cordelia Cruise ship which was on its way to Goa on October 2. A total of 20 people were arrested in the case.

Aryan Khan will be home for SRK’s birthday on November 2

Vaidehi Taman

October 28, 2021

Both father and son were born in November and this time birthdays would be special for both of them. 25 days in jail was very tough for the son and family both. Aryan became subject to political vengeance and there was huge money demand from the officers, it was a sort of kidnapping and blackmailing. NCB which is a tool in the hands of the central government is unleashed against Bollywood to cripple Maharashtra’s economy. Via these agencies, BJP in the centre was trying to settle scores with Maha Vikas Aghadi for their humiliating failure to power.

Anyways since Aaryan Khan was arrested, there were lots of headlines. Nawab Mallik was hell-bent on exposing NCB officer Sameer Wankhede, he gave the office a tough time. Finally, in all this tug of war, Bombay High Court said there are no grounds to keep Aryan Khan in jail. The Bombay High Court has granted bail to Aryan Khan, Arbaaz Merchant and Munmun Dhamecha in the Mumbai cruise drugs case. The operative part of the order is likely to come tomorrow morning. Until the court gives the operative part of the order, the accused will remain in jail.

Meanwhile, Narcotics Control Bureau zonal director Sameer Wankhede approached Bombay High Court seeking interim protection against arrest over the inquiry against him by the Maharashtra government. He demanded a probe by CBI or any central agency in the matter. The arguments on the matter were heard by the Division Bench of Bombay HC. Recently, Sameer’s sister Yasmeen also filed a police complaint seeking registration of an FIR against Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik for allegedly defaming her. In her two-page complaint submitted to the Oshiwara police, Yasmeen claimed her family was being targeted on social media and that Malik had also called their family trip to the Maldives a “vasooli (extortion) trip”. She alleged that Malik was trying to defame her and her family members.

Later, Sameer’s wife Kranti Redkar wrote a letter to Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray. In the letter, she said, “Being a Marathi person, I expect some justice from your side as my personal life is unnecessarily being dragged into a controversy. Had late Balasaheb Thackeray (father of Uddhav Thackeray) been alive today, he would not have tolerated such a personal attack on a woman’s dignity.” But Kranti forgot the breach of privacy caused by her husband to all selective targets he picked.

In the shocking development, Mumbai-based advocate Jayesh Wani has approached the MRA Marg police station in Mumbai and filed a cheating and forgery complaint against Sameer Wankhede. He has alleged that Sameer Wankhede took away the opportunity of someone from a scheduled caste by submitting a fake caste certificate to get into the civil services.

Sameer Wankhede has also filed a petition in the Bombay High Court seeking CBI investigation in his case if there has to be any probe. This is against the probe launched against him by the Mumbai Police. Wankhede was seeking interim protection. Wankhede said he is being personally attacked by the State. The Bombay HC has disposed of the plea filed by NCB top officer Sameer Wankhede seeking a CBI probe into extortion allegations against him. This is against the probe launched against him by the Mumbai Police.

Wankhede is given four corner fights along with his wife, sister and father. For two days they are making rounds in media studios. Nawab Malik has thrown many allegations at them, and they were reckless with all those accusations.

The Mumbai Police have received four applications so far alleging extortion by Sameer Wankhede and other officials, and have launched an enquiry to verify these claims. One of the applications was sent by NCB independent witness Prabhakar Sail who had alleged that he had overheard K P Gosavi, another witness in the cruise ship raid case, talking to one Sam D’Souza over the phone about a demand of Rs 25 crore including Rs 8 crore for Sameer Wankhede. Sail has sent the application against NCB officers to the Mumbai Police.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra minister Nawab Malik accused Wankhede of illegal phone tapping and announced that he will hand over a letter on the official’s ‘misdeeds’ to the agency head. Mumbai NCB has summoned Prabhakar Sail, a witness in the drugs on cruise case, for questioning. He will be questioned by the NCB team reaching Mumbai from Delhi tomorrow, in connection with his allegations of corruption.

The Maharashtra government told the Bombay High Court that it will not arrest NCB’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede without giving him prior notice of three working days, in connection with the allegations of extortion and corruption levelled against him. Wankhede also moved the Bombay High Court, seeking interim protection from arrest or any coercive action against him.

After all this high-end drama, Aaryan Khan will go home. The other accused too will go to their place, but Wankhede has to run to the polls in various inquiries and allegations, one thing is sure that the coming time won’t be easy for Wankhede as his own deeds will haunt him.

Bombay HC grants bail to Aryan, Arbaaz and Munmun in the cruise drug case

Afternoon Voice

October 28, 2021

The Bombay High Court on Thursday granted bail to Aryan Khan in the Mumbai cruise drugs seizure case. The High Court also granted bail to Arbaaz Merchant and Munmum Dhamecha in the case.

Aryan Khan, son of superstar Shah Rukh Khan, was granted bail by a single bench of Justice N W Sambre over 20 days after his arrest in the case of seizure of banned drugs aboard a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast.

“All three pleas are allowed. I will pass detailed orders by tomorrow evening,” Justice Sambre said.

Aryan Khan’s advocates then sought permission to submit cash bail to which the court refused and said surety is to be given.

“I could have given the order also tomorrow. But I gave it today,” Justice Sambre said.

The legal team of the 23-year-old Aryan Khan, who is presently in judicial custody and lodged at the Arthur Road prison in central Mumbai, will now try to complete the formalities for his release by Friday.

“The detailed order will be given tomorrow (Friday). Hopefully, all they will come out of the jail by tomorrow or Saturday,” said Former AG Mukul Rohatgi, who was representing Aryan Khan in the court.

Aryan Khan, Merchant and Dhamecha were arrested by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on October 3 and booked under relevant sections of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) for possession, consumption, sale/purchase of banned drugs, conspiracy and abetment.

Hacker Manish Bhangale was offered to tamper with evidence; he indicates a threat to Prabhakar Sail

Vaidehi Taman

October 28, 2021

Ethical hacker approaches cops, claims he was offered Rs 5 lakh to obtain call data records of Shah Rukh Khan’s manager, others. On October 27, an ethical hacker reportedly approached the cops claiming that he was offered Rs 5 lakh to obtain call records of Shah Rukh Khan’s manager and others.

In an exclusive conversation with our Editor-in-Chief Vaidehi Taman, Manish Leeladhar Bhangale the hacker from Jalgaon about his shocking claims in the Aryan Khan drug case, he said, “Some persons called Alok Jain and Shailesh Chaudhary approached me and made an offer of Rs 5 lakh to tamper with evidence, they told me to manipulate the WhatsApp chat of Aryan khan and provide the CDR of Shah Rukh Khan’s secretary Pooja Dadlani’s mobile number, they further demanded the duplicate sim card of Sail.”

Manish Bhangale, an ethical hacker, has written a letter to the Mumbai Police Commissionerate informing those two men named Alok Jain and Shailesh Choudhary had approached him on October 6 to obtain call records of a few numbers, including SRK’s manager Pooja Dadlani. Bhangale was told that some officials and political leaders would come in contact with Mumbai. He was assigned to remove the CDR of some mobiles.

The report also stated that the men also showed him a WhatsApp chat backup file, which was named ‘Aryan Khan Chat’, and also asked him to provide a dummy SIM card in the name of Prabhakar Sail.

However, Bhangale did not take up the job. A few days later when he saw Prabhakar Sail’s name in the news, he thought of informing the authorities as he was approached to make a dummy SIM card in his name.

Prabhakar Sail, an independent witness, claimed an extortion bid of Rs 25 crore by some NCB officials, including the agency’s zonal director Sameer Wankhede, and others for letting off accused Aryan Khan in the drugs case. Prabhakar Sail said he was the bodyguard of another witness in the case, Kiran Gosavi, who is absconding after the NCB raids that were conducted on October 3 at the cruise terminal on Mumbai’s coast leading to the arrest of as many as 20 people, including Aryan Khan.

Aryan Khan, who was arrested earlier this month by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) after they raided an alleged ‘rave party’ on a Goa-bound luxury cruise, is lodged in Arthur Road Jail. His bail plea is currently being heard by the Bombay High Court. Ever since his arrest, support has been pouring in from all sides for Shah Rukh Khan and his family. While some have been visiting his residence, others have been posting supportive messages on social media. His fans have been gathering outside Mannat with posters and placards showing their solidarity for the superstar.

Exclusive Audio Conversation with Manish Bhangale

NCB registered many fake cases in which people were implicated and robbed?

Vaidehi Taman

October 27, 2021

Nawab Malik’s bold stand was widely appreciated. He stood his ground by exposing NCB’s corrupt officers. Now that an extortion angle has entered the narrative, things are getting obscure and vague. Sameer Dawood Wankhede will no longer be able to escape from going to jail for forgery if the charges are proven in ongoing investigations but if he carries on in spite of being guilty then understand there is no rule of law in the country.

In UPSC, he had filed the certificate of being a Dalit (SC) i.e., Hindu, at the same time he was signing the Nikahnama by becoming a Muslim. His Muslim brother-in-law is a witness to that Nikahnama. He cannot say that he was a Muslim at the time of marriage and later became a Hindu and was a Hindu when he got his SC certificate made.

Surprisingly, even after his fraud got exposed, some journalists and assigned IT cell members are defending him and he himself is calling the evidence against him a breach of his family privacy. Wankhede has compromised the privacy of many celebrities by making their WhatsApp chat public. There were a series of newsroom coverage and prime time debates. He showed no maturity while compromising these celebrities. See, Karma needs no address, today Wankhede is getting haunted by the same media.

Remember, when Alok Verma as the CBI chief, had investigated the complaint of taking huge bribes against some CBI officers. Later on, after transferring them, the CBI headquarters were raided overnight and the files and other documents of that alleged bribery were confiscated. After that, the case was hushed up by paying quite a lot of money in the BJP party fund and even today the CBI officer is enjoying his service extension. The officers who earn and share their bribery are liked by the governments.

Nawab Malik has made another big allegation against Sameer Wankhede by issuing a four-page letter which was sent to him by some whistleblower alleging the 26 NCB cases in the last year in which Sameer Wankhede along with his officers had made extortion. The letter also names the Commissioner of Delhi Police and the then NCB DG Rakesh Asthana.

The letter says recovery was also made from Bollywood actors. Nawab Malik says that he has been sent this letter by an employee of NCB from the post, after which he has also sent this letter to the DG of NCB so that they too should include the said letter in their investigation.

Nawab Malik, while releasing the letter sent by an unidentified NCB employee, said that ever since Sameer Wankhede was appointed as NCB Mumbai Zonal Director, he has been making fake cases. When Rakesh Asthana was the Director-General of Narcotics Control Bureau, he had sent an officer of his choice to Mumbai as the chief of the SIT to investigate the Sushant Singh Rajput drugs case. Along with this, Sameer Wankhede was also made the Zonal Director of Mumbai Zone after taking approval from Home Minister Amit Shah.

After this promotion, Sameer Wankhede along with this officer started implicating Bollywood actors in fake drugs cases. The letter has also alleged that Wankhede has extorted crores of rupees from the film artists after registering the cases. Bollywood actresses Deepika Padukone, Karishma Prakash, Shraddha Kapoor, Rakul Preet Singh, Sara Ali Khan, Bharti Singh, Harsh Limbachiyaa, Rhea Chakraborty, Shobhit Chakraborty and Arjun Rampal were unnecessarily harassed for perks and publicity.

It has been said that the lawyer is a friend of Sameer Wankhede and used to come and go to the NCB office without any restrictions. In the letter, it is also alleged that Sameer Wankhede used to approach every actor, and asked them to hire his lawyer friend for further negotiations. It has also been alleged in this letter that Samir Wankhede always implicated innocent people in false cases to get his news published in the media.

Sameer Wankhede had also formed a separate team in which there were many officers and employees of NCB to run their fake raid racket. It has also been written in that letter that if less quantity of drugs were found in the possession of the accused, then more quantity of drugs was shown so that the accused could not get bail unless he pay a huge amount as a bribe.

It has also been alleged that Sameer Wankhede’s some henchmen used to provide drugs to him so that drugs could be shown on the arrested accused in false cases. This unidentified NCB employee has alleged in his letter that Riya Chakraborty and Shobhik Chakraborty were implicated unreasonably. It has also been said in the letter that when the people of NCB used to go to the houses of the accused of search, they used to rob them of money and gold ornaments besides extorting money from them.

The letter also mentions implicating Nawab Malik’s son-in-law Sameer Khan in a false case. NCB arrested Sameer Khan by showing 200 kg of tobacco as ganja. In a way, NCB registered 26 different fake cases in which people were implicated in false cases and sent to jail. Above all lakhs of rupees were also collected from all these people to ease the case. If this letter has to be believed then, there is a serious concern. Hope the investigating agencies conduct their unbiased inquiries and expose the wrongdoing of NCB officers.

Should Nawab Malik resign? Wankhede has shared the caste certificate, family tree, birth certificate

Afternoon Voice

October 27, 2021

“If the evidence presented by me turns out to be false, I will resign and retire from politics,” said Nawab Malik, the minority minister. After the allegations of Nawab Malik, Sameer Wankhede has shared the caste certificate, family tree, birth certificate, Kotwali register copy, family photo. NCP minister challenged NCB officer Sameer Wankhede to produce his original birth certificate, if he dares to do so Malik would resign from active politics.

Minority Minister Nawab Malik has accused NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede, who is probing the Mumbai cruise drugs case, of getting a job through a fake certificate. Following the allegations of Nawab Malik, Sameer Wankhede has issued his father and his caste certificate. In the caste certificate, Sameer’s father is from the Mahar caste that comes to SC. Sameer Wankhede shared caste certificate, genealogy, birth certificate, Kotwali register copy, family photo and said that he did not tamper with any documents.

Nawab Malik said in a press conference today that the certificate shared on his Twitter was the original birth certificate of Wankhede. At the same time, NCB zonal director Sameer Wankhede has said that he will come to Mumbai to answer all the allegations made by the minister.

Meanwhile, Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad has given a warning to Marathi actress and Sameer Wankhede’s wife Kranti Redkar who was randomly alleging the government of not allowing her husband to do his duties. Jitendra Awhad said that “when Sameer Wankhede raided a cruise with 4,000 passengers, he found only six people taking drugs. The remaining 3,994 were in order. That’s how I got this question. This action has been taken deliberately.”

Speaking at a press conference, Malik said that if there is a threat to the life of Kranti Redkar and his family, he should meet Home Minister Amit Shah. “I demand that Amit Shah provide Z security to Wankhede’s family,” Malik said. He further stated that “If the allegations in the certificate are false, I will retire from politics. And if it turns out to be false, at least they should apologize. His job is about to go”.

“My name is Dnyandev Wankhede on the service book. The name of Dnyandev Wankhede is also mentioned in all my government documents” said Sameer Wankhede’s father while talking to the media.

Sameer Wankhede said “Yes, I got married in a Muslim way because my mother wanted me to. My mother was a Muslim by birth and she converted to Hinduism by marrying my father. I am a secular person. I celebrate Eid and I also celebrate Diwali. I also go to temples and mosques. I have registered the marriage as per the Special Marriage Act after getting married as per the custom of the Muslim religion, as per the wishes of the mother. So, is this a crime? ”

Meanwhile, speaking about Sameer Wankhede’s certificate, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar made the comment that 90,000 people have started working on bogus certificates in the state. To which Awhad said “This means that he has accepted that Sameer Wankhede’s certificate is bogus. If they are agreeing, then the role of the BJP is clear. “I congratulate them for that.”

Pegasus snooping attempt to ‘crush’ Indian democracy: Rahul Gandhi

Afternoon Voice

October 27, 2021

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday termed as a “big step” the Supreme Court appointing a three-member panel of cyber experts to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for surveillance of certain people and expressed confidence that truth would come out.

At a press conference, Gandhi alleged that only the prime minister or the home minister could have ordered the use of Pegasus spyware.

During the last Parliament session, the Opposition had jointly taken up the issue and had stalled proceedings demanding a probe, he recalled.

“We were asking three basic questions — who authorised Pegasus, which agency, which person authorised Pegasus as we all know Pegasus cannot be bought by a private individual, it has to be bought by a government; the second question was who was it used against; final thing was, did any other country have access to information of our people,” the former Congress chief said.

Asserting that alleged snooping using Pegasus is an “attempt to crush Indian democracy”, Gandhi said it is a “big step that the Supreme Court has said that they are going to look into this matter. I am confident that we will get the truth out of this”.

“We are quite happy that the Supreme Court has accepted to look into this. There is the institution of Parliament where we will raise this again and we will try to have a debate in Parliament. I am sure the BJP will not like that debate so they will make sure that debate is stalled but we will try to hold that debate,” he said.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday appointed a three-member panel of cyber experts to probe the alleged use of Israeli spyware Pegasus for surveillance of certain people in India, saying every citizen needs protection against privacy violation and mere invocation of ”national security by State” does not render the court a “mute spectator”.

Finding material that “prima facie merits consideration”, a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices Surya Kant and Hima Kohli declined the Centre’s plea to appoint an expert panel on its own, saying such a course would violate the settled judicial principle against bias.

Three experts on cyber security, digital forensics, networks and hardware were roped in by the Supreme Court to “enquire, investigate and determine” whether Pegasus spyware was used for snooping on citizens and their probe would be monitored by former apex court judge R V Raveendran.

The three-member technical panel, which has been given wide-ranging powers, would comprise eminent experts, Naveen Kumar Chaudhary, Prabaharan P and Ashwin Anil Gumaste and report to Justice Raveendran.

Mental Health among Indian Journalists is predominant

Vaidehi Taman

October 27, 2021

media reporters, indian journalists, journalists, mental health, mental health of journalists, reporters, media in india — Image: Bhanu Prakash Chandra / TheWeek

Journalism is not a very easy profession but it’s somewhat voracious work. It involves a lot of legwork; the routine challenge begins with traffic on the way to your beat by the time you reach your workstation one is almost exhausted. We don’t even know what kind of atmosphere one has at home, what are the routine snags one has in their life. Sometimes you would be late, or worse, miss out on special family gatherings. There can be physical and emotional challenges too. But still, no matter what you have to be a hundred per cent with your deadlines.

Journalism work is hectic, sometimes even toxic. There would be times it will raid you of your personal time. Sometimes it’s a thankless job. you would be blamed for social misery and the ills of the world in general. Journalism may not be all that glamorous a job. You will sweat in your pits and on your back under the sun. You would get wet in the rain. You might also get harassed for some reason. Workplace hierarchy is another issue. Pleasing your bosses, dealing with lobby and fortuitous things is another issue. This may not be in all places but yes most of the media houses are cursed with such occurrences.

Journalism might have some perks but this job doesn’t pay much, especially if you are working in a small newspaper or establishment. With minimum staff, one has to give maximum output. Yes, there is stress and dealing with it is not easy. The glory of the byline makes you run to polls and above all compete with your own peers to get that visibility. That exclusive task gives an unlimited load for the story. It’s a tough time to be a journalist, but journalism is still one of the noblest professions.

These days journalism has become loud, unbalanced and stressful. In the greed of getting headlines, one has to be on toes searching for some breaking news. Sometimes sensation grabs all the limelight and most crucial stories take a backseat. Balancing between the scoop and factual is tough. Occasionally, if you are lucky, your well-written/edited news or feature articles would trigger the formulation of public policy that would pave the way for social change in a community.

Your decision would depend mainly on your values and priority in life. If you want to get rich, honest and neutral journalism may not seem the best option. If you are the type who puts greater weight on using writing skills and communication, endorsing government and certain personalities than pursuing fame and fortune, journalism might prove a wise choice.

You might also want to consider the fact that there will come a time in your life as a journalist that your values and priorities would change, and so you would have to re-evaluate your prospects. Today’s journalism is more inspired by Popularity rating and not by the passion to expose the truth. it is more about creating sensation and instigating public sentiments rather than putting forth unbiased news with pure fact.

It is more about getting personal and political favours than making citizens aware of the various political decisions, may it be tax reforms, police reforms, constitutional amendments. Investigation stories are getting fabricated, created to get Pulitzer nominations. Everything is saleable from book reviews to movie reviews. Like any other profession, it is all about money, fame and power. The only difference is journalism has incredible power to influence the masses and has the capability to become change-makers.

Some journalists played significant roles in breaking corrupt governments, unearthing scams and scandals, covering heinous crimes and making the unknown stories of exceptional people known to the world. In developing countries, especially rural masses who have limited access to information and govt schemes, less reach to the rest of the country. Journalism offers them a chance to see the other world. Make stories about their struggle, their innovations. But all in all, journalism has changed from the fourth estate to more of a puppet in the hands of the mighty and powerful.

Due to social media coverage by citizen journalists, there is a lot of competition between mainstream media and social media. From threats towards freedom of the press to low wages and intense work pressure; journalism is one of the professions which is defenceless to negative impacts on mental health. The journalists have to go through various parameters and prove themselves. These days hiring and firing journalists takes no time, demolishing establishments and chasing particular scribes to death is not new. Journalists of India goes through various pressures and that creates anxiety. I am happy that various press unions and clubs are discussing these factors on public forums. Let us see how we can create a better environment for media workers.

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