‘We will wait till probe is complete’

Star Plus channel assured the Govt that an episode of its popular serial, inspired by Aarushi case, would not be telecast till the probe is complete, reports Chetan Chauhan.

Updated on: Jun 11, 2008, 02:41:06 IST

Hindustan Times | By Chetan Chauhan, New Delhi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Television channel Star Plus on Tuesday assured the government that an episode of its popular series

Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki,

inspired by the Aarushi murder case, would not be telecast till the investigations are over.

Information & Broadcasting minister PR Dasmunsi spoke to Star Plus officials after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sought his intervention on the issue. The commission also issued a notice to Balaji Telefilms asking it to first seek permission from Aarushi’s parents to telecast the episode.

Dasmunsi told reporters the channel’s officials have assured him the controversial episode will not be shown till the investigations are completed in the twin murder case involving Aarushi and the family’s domestic help Hemraj.

"It is not government policy to interfere in intellectual rights of television channels. But considering NCPCR’s intervention and legalities involved in Aarushi case, I spoke with Star Plus officials," the minister explained.

NCPCR member Sandhaya Bajaj said the government’s intervention has helped in protecting the rights of a deceased child and will ensure investigations in the case are not effected. Aarushi’s mother Nupur Talwar had made an appeal to the commission on Monday asking it to stop Balaji Telefilms from telecasting an episode inspired from Aarushi murder case.

The NCPCR on Tuesday also warned Balaji Telefilms of stern action if it was found to have committed any act amounting to violation or infringement of rights of the deceased child for the purpose of commercial gain.

The commission said telecasting an episode inspired from the Noida twin murders might violate the rights of the murder victim after her death.

Meanwhile, the I&B ministry had issued show case notice to a television news channel India News for showing an MMS of Aarushi and has sought its footage. Senior ministry officials said the footage would be examined by an inter-ministerial committee to decide whether any action should be taken against the channel or not for violation of the programme code. The notice was issued on basis of a complaint received by the ministry.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chetan Chauhan
Chetan Chauhan is the National Affairs Editor looking into all aspects of news and features from across India. A Chevening scholar with over three decades of experience in reporting and news management, Chetan has extensively covered all important aspects of the social sector, political economy, environment and climate change nationally and internationally. He did a journalism course at the Reuters Institute of Journalism in Oxford and Digital Media training at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He started as a reporter with The Statesman in 1996 and joined the Hindustan Times in 2000 in the metro bureau covering environment, crime and Delhi politics. He covered hot local news, from the Jessica Lal murder case to the rebellion of Delhi Congress MLAs against then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, to the replacement of toxic vehicle fuel with cleaner compressed natural gas (CNG) in the national capital. Some of his stories on air pollution became part of the Supreme Court’s landmark MC Mehta versus Government of India case in the National Capital Region (NCR), forcing the government to take corrective measures. As part of the national political bureau since 2004, he covered important central sectors such as environment, education, social justice, labour, rural development, water resources, renewable energy, agriculture, broadcasting and the Planning Commission for more than a decade producing several exclusive and investigative breaking stories. His specialisation is the environment, having covered at least a dozen United Nations global conferences on climate change, biodiversity and wildlife including climate summits in Paris, Copenhagen and Bali. He also covered India’s two five-year plans ---11th and 12th and reported on drafting and execution of right based laws such as Right to Education, Right to Information and rural job guarantee law, MG-NREGA, now being introduced in new format as VG-RAM-G Act. He has in-depth knowledge of social sector issues. He was one of the first to report on tigers vanishing from Sariska and Panna wildlife reserves in 2004 and 2008, respectively, leading to the setting up of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the introduction of stringent penal provisions for poaching. He has written extensively on the rising human-animal conflict in India and the degradation of India’s biodiversity hotspots because of mining and other activities. Since 2004, Chetan has covered Parliament comprehensively and participated in training on the nuanced coverage of Parliament proceedings. He has travelled extensively across India to cover national and provincial elections since 1998, especially in the Hindi heartland states, considered India’s road to power. He writes a regular column for Hindustan Times, Ecostani, on important national politics, economy, Himalayan ecology and environmental issues. His other responsibilities include providing inputs for edits and edit page articles for the publication, apart from managing news flow from across India.Read More

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.