A news TV anchor has landed in trouble with the police over a false claim of “nar bali (human sacrifice)” at the Kamakhya temple in Assam, during a live conversation with a cousin of Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, who was murdered allegedly by his wife and her lover during their honeymoon in Meghalaya earlier this year.
The Guwahati Police Crime Branch summoned the news anchor along with Shrishti Raghuvanshi, a female cousin of Raja Raghuvanshi, over the alleged defamatory statement about the revered Hindu shrine, news agency ANI reported. The anchor and the channel were not named in the agency report.
After the FIR was filed on charges of hurting religious sentiments, both the anchor and Raja Raghuvanshi's cousin were asked to appear before the investigation officer on June 23 and 24, but they have not done so till date, according to Ankur Jain, Joint Police Commissioner, Guwahati City Police.
The anchor, reported to be from a prominent English news channel, was interviewing Shrishti about Raja's initial disappearance in Meghalaya – the murder came to light later – when the anchor claimed that human sacrifice was carried out at as a practice at the temple in Meghalaya's neighbouring state of Assam. Shrishti purportedly agreed with the anchor's remarks during the live broadcast, the police said according to a report by NDTV.
As outrage followed the false claims and the apparent suggestion that Raja may have been “sacrificed”, the channel and...
Join us for a timely and insightful webinar exploring the evolving landscape of the False Claims Act (FCA) and its growing impact on businesses—regardless of industry or perceived risk. While many...