Indian TV channels blocked after massacre expose

NEW DELHI, Oct 27: Officials in India have blocked television channels which aired secretly recorded footage allegedly exposing government involvement in the 2002 killing of Muslims.

The riots in Gujarat state left at least 2,000 Muslims dead and many victims and rights groups at the time accused the Hindu nationalist-ruled local government of backing the violence.

The Headlines Today private television network on Thursday began broadcasting footage of men accused of taking part in the deadly riots apparently admitting that they were spurred on by Hindu groups allied with the government.

On Friday cable operators in the state’s commercial capital Ahmedabad received written orders to block the Aaj Tak and Headlines Today channels.

Channels that covered the expose, which comes as the state readies for assembly elections in December, were also ordered to be pulled, it said.

State elections officer Ashok Manek confirmed the order had been issued by top Ahmedabad district official, or collector, Dhananjay Dwivedi.

Dwivedi cited concerns about sparking “communal feeling,” said the report, referring to a term commonly used to describe tension between religious groups in India.

Police verbally told cable operators in other parts of the state to stop carrying the channels.

But Gujarat government spokesman Bhagyesh Jha denied that the state had issued any orders against television channels.

“I have not passed the order,” Jha said. “You ask the collector (Dwivedi) about it.” Dwivedi could not be reached for comment .

The channels showed interviews secretly recorded by a reporter of the investigative news magazine Tehelka with several men allegedly involved in the anti-Muslim attacks.

The magazine’s investigation also pointed to alleged support for the carnage from police and state politicians.

Some men reportedly said that Gujarat’s hawkish Chief Minister Narendra Modi, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), gave Hindu mob leaders three days to do “whatever” they wanted.

The expose prompted renewed calls from rights activists for tough court action against any wrongdoers.

“The victims have said all that we saw on TV,” said Teesta Setalvad of Citizens for Justice and Peace, which has given legal help to Gujarat victims.

“The courts have heard the charges, but if they don’t expedite the hearing, evidence can be lost.”

The Tehelka report has highlighted how cases surrounding the mass-killings are still stuck somewhere in India’s notoriously slow court system.

Setalvad said 15 cases related to the riots were pending before the Supreme Court.

Only about 30 people have been convicted so far for their role in the carnage, according to Setalvad.

“There is a distinct possibility that this footage may polarise people on religious lines,” said activist Zakia Jowhar of anti-poverty group Action Aid, who remembers fleeing from the riots in Ahmedabad.—AFP

Source: http://www.dawn.com/2007/10/28/top10.htm