Recently a self-proclaimed Sabse Tej news channel played a 16-year old underworld tape at every second moment continuously for two days. For forty-eight hours the channel in its new format and contour tried its best to hook the viewers up to the programme named “Godfather”, of course with no excuse expressed to Mario Puzo.

The serious looking, bespectacled and bearded anchor who rubs his palms more often than he blinks too put his best foot forward to present the show in a more dramatic and filmi-tone and tenor than the dusty, age old tape itself was. Running again and again and again and… again the channel played it hard to pick up its TRP from the rival channels, though one of them has already run the show with a similar titillating tape.

The tape happened to be of a Birthday Party in which underworld don Dawood Ibrahim and his three brothers, their heavily ‘decorated’ better-halves, tough looking lieutenants looked to have a gala time. In the party some fear stricken Bollywood actors in their afro-hairdo; tight trousers and not so funny antics appeared to try their best to impress Sabka Bhai…. Dawood Bhai…! The channel claimed that they were the superstars of those times of tinsel town.

The puckish, satirically smiling anchor, again rubbing his itching palms, raised the pitch of his tone and tried to create a C-grade suspense of a Bollywood movie at every next frame of the tape. The channel’s Underworld specialist correspondent too made its appearance as an expert commentator on the show. The script sounded stale like the tape but the show kept going on and on.. and on to the horror of the viewers.

Next day, after their exclusive expose the channel let loose its reporters after the hapless Bollywood actors for their comment. Throwing wary glances and controversial shrugs the reporters on tow chased the actors till they disappeared. Seeking comment after sixteen years for making their presence in a party which they could not afford to ignore---for both, fear of life and limb. The poor, terrified actors struggled to save their face while the journalists playing holier-than-thou image.

The question is who in Bollywood could have courage to avoid the invitation of all powerful underworld don Dawood Ibrahim at that time. The very name of Dawood was enough to spell terror in the minds of the hapless actors. No one could have afforded to ignore his invitation for the sake of their life and hard earned career. You name it and you get it on the next Dubai flight. Many more tapes must not have unrolled or the Intelligence people might yet not have provided to the enthusiastic journos for their “Exclusives”.

And, why only the actors from Bollywood? Could the chasing, hunting journalists who take pride in running the “given tapes” as exclusives afford to waffle or put off a call from man no less infamous than a most wanted international terrorist?, a man who is undisputed king of underworld of the country, a man who runs a D-company worth thousands of crores of rupees, a man whose call to anyone, anywhere in the country—forget about Mumbai and Bollywood takes his pant down, a man at whose little wish his trigger-happy boys could fire at anyone, anytime. They have been doing it, they are doing it and they will be doing it or not might be a question. But for the moment, its they who run the show.

I personally know a senior journalist of the country who now works at a very senior position in a national weekly receiving jitters with frequent calls from Dawood and his henchman Chhota Shakeel after the weekly did a cover story which had labelled Dawood as India’s public Enemy No 1. Soon after, the story appeared the journalist friend received a call from the Bhai himself thundering “We are not gangsters but yes, occasionally if we find a snake in our midst we crush the bastard dead”. The don further demanded an apology to be published on the magazines’ cover. The call kept coming in sending shivers to the journalists’ spine.

He himself admitted later everytime he received call from Dawood’s lieutenant Chhota Shakeel his voice trembled out of fear as once Shakeel himself said, “Awaj kyon kapta hai. Apun phone pe thodi firing karega, Uske liye to UP mein hamare ladke hain”. Somehow, with a colleague’s assistance the situation was handled as the reputed magazine carried an interview of Mr D. The Boss appeared happy over the picture and the interview and the hapless journalist friend heaved a sigh of relief.

Similarly, on the eve of the last Parliamentary elections I was sitting before the most terrifying man in Bihar who also happens to be RJD MP from Siwan, Mohd. Shahabuddin inside hospital ward of the prison. In the middle of our conversation the infamous MP who allegedly has links with Dawood and terrorist outfit Hizbul Mujaheedin got a call on his cell phone and he started blasting left and right to the man at the other side of the phone.

Later, through a common journalist friend who was also present there I came to know that the MP was issuing threat to a senior journalist, a proud bureau-chief of a Patna based Hindi daily. The journalist, as I could loosely draw out from their conversation, was begging for his life in the name of his friendship with the threatening MP. The reporter reportedly had carried a piece which could have disturbed the caste chemistry of the MP in his constituency.

There are many more such examples of the journalists and some editors who danced to the tunes whenever the underworld spilled the beans. But, very shamelessly we chose to be holier-than-thou and usually look out for and chase the soft targets, minions, hapless artistes including the Bollywood actors.

The Sabse Tej channel should feel proud and the palm-rubbing journalist must be justified for his puckish smile when they run tapes on how the members of our fraternity run for their life and loss of word when Bhai calls. How and what most of our crusader editors do behind the curtain, within the close doors. How seriously starved of everything flashy and fleshy are they?

That would be the real Exclusives, Breaking News for them

Those who live in glass houses must not throw stone at others…. And, doesn’t charity begins at home? !!

But, the sound came from background. Who will bell the cat?; Who will lit his own house on fire? Then, its all ha…ha…hee.. hee…from behind.

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Amarnath Tewary
Patna based special correspondent of The Pioneer