Odia TV channel editor held over failure in making full payment for equipment

The Bada Khabar channel has over the last couple of months taken an adversarial stand over excavations and constructions around Puri’s Jagannath Temple

Published on: Jun 30, 2022, 13:23:05 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The Odisha Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Thursday arrested Odia TV channel Bada Khabar’s editor Ardhendu Das from the Nayagarh district for his alleged failure in making full payment for studio equipment bought from a Delhi-based firm.

Police superintendent (EOW) Dilip Tripathy said Das paid businessman Gagandeep Singh Chawla, the firm Solution Broadcast’s owner, ₹10 lakh in advance and he was to pay the remaining amount of ₹92 lakh within six months. He added Chawla alleged Das did not pay him the remaining amount and subsequently filed a complaint with EOW on June 23.

Das has maintained much of the equipment was of sub-standard quality and unfit to be used and that most of the hardware and software were returned.

Nisit Agrawal, a Cuttack-based businessman, has also filed a complaint, saying Das purchased furniture and other articles worth ₹11 lakh from him but paid only ₹4.4 lakh. Das faces another case in Bhubaneswar over failure to pay rent of his office amounting to ₹5.81 lakh.

The Bada Khabar channel has over the last couple of months taken an adversarial stand over excavations and constructions around Puri’s Jagannath Temple. The state government has faced criticism over violations of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act over them.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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