(Riya Singh, Intern Journalist): Till very recently, Rhea Chakraborty was not a name familiar to the general public. Today, however, ‘Rhea’ is the only news India’s big media houses want to talk about. Not Covid-19 which is killing a thousand Indians a day, not the unresolved standoff with China, not the horrendous state of the economy, not even the plight of lakhs of students who are being forced to take their engineering and medical entrance exams in the midst of the pandemic. On nightly television news, whose anchors serve as judge, jury, and executioner in all matters, she has been vilified beyond all known limits of journalistic ethics, to say nothing of human decency.
Two days after the arrest of her younger brother Showik, Rhea Chakraborty on Sunday appeared before the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) for questioning in the drugs case linked to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput. The 28-year-old arrived at the agency’s office in Mumbai’s Ballard Estate area at 12 noon. She was escorted by police personnel. However, in the videos that went viral on social media, the mob of media can be seen thronging at Rhea Chakraborty in a very unruly manner. A hundred men, their cameras touching her, violating her space, her body. After the clip was shared by media outlets on Twitter, netizens called it the ‘scariest video on the internet today’.
Reacting to this video, actress Gauhar Khan tweeted, “I haven’t seen the worst of the criminals being treated like this even after being convicted! Let there be a trial !!! Absolutely disgusted with the way the media is treating her!”
Another user commented, “This utter cruelty. What if Rhea is innocent? She is not proven guilty. Why the Supreme Court doesn’t interfere in this media trial. This must stop. What if Rhea takes an extreme step because of this? Who will be responsible?”
Media organizations have no excuse to behave like online trolls. TV channels’ predatory and irresponsible journalism is ruining people’s lives. The solution, however, lies in the hands of Indian viewers, who should use their remotes sensibly and stop watching these channels. This expression of disgust is the only thing that can make a difference.
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