(S.Ravi Seshu)
Eenadu owner Ch.Ramoji Rao’s decision to launch district editions (mini/tabloid) in 1989 is said to have diluted the spirit of journalistic professionalism as he had roped in untrained people to produce news at micro-level. These part-time journalists, called as stringers/contributors, outnumbered the trained professional journalists. Since they were paid pittance (based on line account), many of them started colluding with black sheep in bureaucrats, politicians and criminals to further corrupt the system. Journalism, subsequently, lost the sheen and people started hating the profession as well as people involved in it.
Here is a classic case to understand as to how Eenadu is responsible, albeit indirectly, for the rise of a ‘journalist’ who reportedly had a nexus with the dreaded mafia don Nayeem. He tried to launch a news channel, I10, on behalf of the renegade and allegedly involved in settlements. See the newspaper clipping published in Eenadu to know what police say about Hariprasad Reddy, the journalist in question.
A native of Miryalaguda town in Nalgonda district, Hariprasad Reddy entered into the pious field of journalism through Eenadu as a contributor in Nalgonda town without any formal training. “Eenadu recruited him without checking his credentials. A reporter at the time must have been impressed by Hari’s gift of gab. Hari got in touch with a woman through phone and soon befriended with her. He got arrested in her suicide case,” a senior journalist, a witness of his meteoric rise, told telugu360.com
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Soon after coming out of jail, another popular news channel, TV-9, appointed him as a stringer at Miryalaguda. “Hari used his caste tag to get this job, which is crucial at divisional level. He used to give sensational scrolls and stories much to the agony of other reporters. On seeing the scrolls sent my Hari, we used to get bashing from our boses,” a TV journalist recalled. Later, he joined I-News and 6 TV as district reporter.
A controversial editor of a Telugu news channel, who was caught red-handed while accepting bribe in TV-9 office, reportedly encouraged Hari though he was in other channels. “This corrupt editor entertained Hari, who was into illegal activities by then with the help of a former Maoist. Hari was involved in the transfer of some ground level police officials,” another staff reporter said. Hari’s close relation with a TRS leader, an aid of Nayeem, was a known fact to reporters based in Nalgonda.
“This leader, who belong to Hari’s caste, encouraged him. As police said, we all know that Hari performed Ganesh navarathrulu on behalf of Nayeem and spent good amount of money. It is learnt that this gang was to do with the killing of former Maoist Konapuri Ramulu in Nalgonda,” a media person from Nalgonda said. Many henchmen of Nayeem attended the house warming function organised by Hari, who had built a palatial house recently.
Recently, Hari rose to become the CEO of I10 channel and opened an office in Banjara Hills and almost started his operations allegedly by using money supplied by Nayeem. “Hari has become the mouthpiece of Nayeem of late and human rights activists, who were lying low following the don’s threats, started shivering to receive the journalist’s phone calls. As soon as Nayeem was killed in police firing on August 8, Hari vacated his Hyderabad office and disappeared,” a source said.
Nalgonda police picked up Hari last week and took enough information from him before showing his arrest. For unknown reasons, police didn’t produce Hari in front of media away from the practice. Hari is the first journalist to be arrested in the case and more to follow, it is learnt.
