the Sunday edition. I am working on it. Please, sir, give me some time." said the editor to his
boss. His boss was furious due to the decrease in the circulation of the newspaper. The editor
called his intern to his cabin.
As the intern came the frustrated editor vented all his frustration on him. After becoming calm,
the editor asked," Did you get any interesting story, Sumit?". Sumit hesitatingly answered," Yes
sir, somewhat like that." The editor raised his eyebrow and asked," What do you mean by
somewhat like that? Can you show me the story?" Sumit showed him the story. After reading it,
the editor was quite satisfied with it and asked him," Where did you get this?" Sumit replied,"
Actually sir, I got an anonymous mail and that person wanted me to publish this story in Fact or
Fiction column of our Sunday edition. He had also written in his mail that the other half of the
story he will send after this is published in this Sunday's edition. Also, he requested to publish it
as it is without editing. I thought something is wrong with the story so I was hesitated to show
this to you."
The editor thought for quite some time, read the story again and told Sumit," Publish this story.
Our circulation is decreasing and maybe if there is something in this story, our derailed train can
come back to the track. Let's hope for the best. "
A slight smile conquered his face and he left the cabin of the editor. The Sunday edition can
prove to be his chance to climb the ladder from being an intern to assistant editor.
The car was stuck in traffic. The newspaper sellers were selling the newspaper by loudly telling
the catchy headlines of the newspaper. Sitting in a Mercedes GL class, the person was busy with
his laptop when his cell phone rang. Seeing the caller id he became quite nervous and as he
picked the phone, the person on the other side of the call said," Today's Mumbai Times, Fact or
Fiction column. Somebody knows." The call was disconnected but the impact of hearing what
the person said lasted for quite some time. The person's heartbeat increased and he opened his
window and asked one of the newspaper sellers for Mumbai times. As he took the newspaper in
his hands, he hurriedly went through the Fact or Fiction column and it seemed to him as he had a
minor heart attack. He started sweating in his AC car. He needs to find out who was behind all
that stuff.
Who was telling the story? And whose story was it anyway? The words fluttered and flew in the
wind. The story was written anonymously in the newspaper and everybody wanted to know
whether it was a fact or a fiction. The social media was overflowing with the post related to this
story and also a campaign with hashtag Who's story also started picking pace. People really
wanted to know who was behind all this and whose story was it. The Sunday edition proved to
be a super hit as it broke all the records of the circulation. The editor was very happy with Sumit
and asked him to contact the anonymous person for another part of the story.
" Coming to the most sensational news. A story which was published in the Mumbai times'
Sunday edition which is trending on all social media sites. People are going crazy to find out
whose story is it. According to some experts, the story seems to be a famous celebrity who
turned rags to riches and then lost to shadows, but nobody is sure who can it be as there are a lot
of names which can be the face of this story. Stay tuned to Newstoday, we will uncover the truth
behind this," the news anchor said as she signed off the prime time show. The story has created a
huge impact and all everyone waited for, is to find the complete truth about it. On the other way,
there are few people who are disturbed by the story and for whom the story can turn their life
apart.
Sumit was happy as his story proved to be such a hit. As he unlocked the door of his apartment
and went inside he smelled a strange smell of the perfume. As he switched on the light, he saw
two masked men sitting in front of him. As he was about to say something, he experienced a
huge blow on his head and he was knocked out. As Sumit came to his senses, he tried opening
his eyes. His head was hurting and he found himself seated on a chair held by two muscular men.
A man was sitting in front of him, but due to darkness in the room, he couldn't see him. The man
finally spoke," Where did you get that story? What do you know about it? Tell me everything."
Sumit spoke," I don't know anything about the story. I don't know whose story is it. I got an
anonymous mail to publish the story. I found the story interesting, so published it. I have no
relation to it. Please leave me." The man inquired again," So didn't you tried to find out the man
behind the story? How can I believe that you are telling me the truth? " Sumit spoke," I was just
happy with the response we got for the story. I didn't bother to find out who it was. Trust me I
am telling the truth. You can check my mail too. If he again comes in contact with me I will
inform you." The man felt satisfied with what Sumit told and warned him not to tell anyone
about it. He also told him not to publish the remaining story or else he will die. They knocked
him out again and left the house.
Next day,
As Sumit entered his office, he went to the editor's cabin. The editor on seeing him knew what
might have happened and asked him," Did anyone pay you a visit?" Sumit was shocked to hear
that and asked his editor how he knew about that. His editor told him that he was the one who
told them about him. Those men threatened him and so he told that Sumit published the story.
Sumit replied," Sir, there is some big story hidden in this. We need to find that out. Some big
people are involved in this." The editor irritatingly said," No need to do anything. We won't
publish the remaining story. I don't want to get involved in any of this. Those people threatened
to kill my family. It's better if we don't interfere in this." Sumit was not in favor of this and said,"
But sir, isn't it what journalism stands for. To find the truth and expose it. We are the torch
bearers of truth. If we won't tell the public about the things happening in the society, who will?
We can't betray our profession sir." The editor replied," These ethical things don't work in the
real world. Our newspaper runs due to funds provided by some big people only. If we betray
them, then we won't have anything to earn and we will starve to death. People don't give a shit
about what is happening. They just want entertainment. They don't want to know the truth. We
give them what they want. There won't be any further discussion on this. I even got the call from
higher management not to publish the story. So if the anonymous person contacts you tell him
that the story won't be published." Sumit left the office feeling dejected.
Sumit got a call from the anonymous person. He told the person that he won't publish the story
and told him not to contact him again. He even recorded the call. He sent the call recording to
those who paid him a visit. Sumit thought what his editor told him and found that even his
editor's point of view was right and practical. Finally, he left that matter behind and tried to find
a new story for the Sunday edition.
" The another half of the sensational article was to be published in the Sunday edition of Mumbai
times, but unfortunately it was not published. People are disappointed with the newspaper. But to
the surprise, an anonymous blog has published the complete story. Whose story it is, is finally
revealed. Apart from that, some shocking revelations are done as some big name of the society
are involved. The story is of the model turned actress Riya Banerjee. The story published seems
to be the excerpts from her personal diary. She has done some serious accusations on producer
Ajay Bhatia and Director Raghav Sharma. Who has published this story and Why? Some
answers are still needed to be found. Till then stay tuned to Newstoday as we dig deeper into this
matter and find all the answers for you. This is Deepa Naik signing off for today. Stay safe." the
news anchor said as she concluded her show.
There has been more curiousness among people as they read the whole story and that too after
knowing that it was a story of a once well-known actress. Social media was again flooding with
hashtags, this time with #Factorfiction. The story was hard to believe because it was so intense.
Sumit and his editor were also in shock after they read the complete story and they knew why
those people didn't want it to be published.
Two days later,
Inspector Ajay Tripathi was sitting on his table, going through some case files when a lawyer
came to him. The lawyer showed him some court order. As Ajay Tripathi read the order which
required to reopen the Riya Banerjee case, his face becomes dull and he looked at the lawyer in
an amazed way. The lawyer told him," Investigate from the start and do it fast, the date for first
court proceeding is after two days. I have some pieces of evidence which I will give you to be
cross-checked. I don't want to stretch this case. The sooner the case closes, the better." Ajay told
the lawyer," I see what I can do."
" I am standing outside the court where the Riya Banerjee case is to be reopened and also we
recently got the news that the case has been transferred to the fast-track court. The producer and
director have also been called. Both the lawyer have entered the courtroom and soon the
proceedings will begin. We will give you every update, so stay tuned to Newstoday." the anchor
said as she along with many other media channel was standing outside court giving live updates.
" Let the proceedings begin.", the judge told. The defense lawyer started," Your honor, we
already proved that Riya Banerjee died of heart attack and it was a natural cause. It is an open
and shut case, why reopen it and waste the precious time of the court. The prosecutor has nothing
to add and he is defaming some big names in the industry. If he doesn't have some valid proof
against them, my client will charge him with defamation." The prosecutor stated," Your honor,
my friend here doesn't understand that if I didn't have a solid proof against his client, I wouldn't
have called them on the very first day. So let me tell you, my friend, sit still and enjoy the show.
My first evidence is this diary written by Riya Banerjee in which she has done some shocking
revelations about producer Ajay Bhatia and director Raghav Sharma. It has been checked by the
handwriting expert and it is proved that the handwriting belongs to Riya Banerjee." "I object
your honor, we can't consider a diary as an important evidence for the case against such
respected people. Moreover, Riya's relations were not good with them, so she might have written
against them out of enmity." said the defense lawyer.
The prosecutor smiled and said," Why would a person write lies in her own diary. It is sheer nonsense
what my friend wants to prove. Any way to make this point strong, I have someone who
will clear everything up. Your honor I would like to call on the stage Mr. Sumit Pandey." As the
name was called, every eye in the room turned towards Sumit and he reached towards the dock.
The prosecutor asked Sumit to speak everything he knows, and Sumit starts," Your honor, I am
Sumit Pandey, Riya's childhood friend. We went to the same school. After school, we parted
ways as we went to different cities. Soon we lost contact. We were somewhat in touch through
social media and I came to know that she became a model and then she was trying her luck in
acting. I on the other side was working with a famous news media house. One day I got a call
from her and she was in a deep problem. She told me everything she faced. She told that after
she won the Miss India title, she was getting a lot offers for acting. She did some and rejected
many. But she wanted to work with the famous pair of producer Ajay Bhatia and director
Raghav Sharma. Though she became famous, she was not approached by them. So one day when
she got to know that there was an audition for their upcoming movie, she reached there. When
she was giving the audition, she was molested by them and told that if she wanted the role, she
needed to compromise. She was a type of girl who would never compromise and left the place.
Then she got a call from one of their managers who tried to manipulate her for compromising by
telling her that it would give a good boost to her career and to get something we need to lose
something. Riya was shattered by this as she had never experienced such dark side of this. She
decided to teach such people a lesson. She secretly started keeping watch on them and recorded
some of their compromises with the new models on camera. Apart from that, she had her own
recording too where they said that she needed to compromise. She had gathered enough proof to
bring them down. She went to a journalist and showed him that. But turned out that he was on
the other side and so Riya started receiving threats from them. She was no longer approached for
any acting contracts. They made her life hell and threatened to rape and kill her if she did
anything wrong. I was out of the country when Riya told me such things, so I told her to stay
underground for some time and I will handle that after I come. When I come back, I found that
she had a heart attack. It was hard to believe for me, I knew something was wrong. I got a letter
of Riya which was posted by her few days before her death. In that, she had written about where
she had hidden all the evidence and how I should get them if she by any chance dies because
threats were increasing day by day. I went there and got all this. This diary, and apart from that
the pen drive which has the video footage of the producer and director molesting models, and
also the audio recording of the threats given to Riya. Please, your honor, go through this and
punish those inhuman people."
The prosecutor continued," Your honor, even the autopsy report was changed. The cause of
death was not heart attack, but she died of the drug overdose which was forcefully given to her.
It was all a cover-up to hide the murder. The police arrested the person from hospital staff and
found out that the manager of the producer was the one who ordered to change the report. It is
not a cause of natural death, It is a cold-blooded murder. All the evidence are against them. I rest
my case."
The judge was convinced, but asked the defense lawyer to show some proof against it on the next
proceeding or else he will give his judgment. On the next proceeding the defense lawyer failed to
provide any strong evidence and so the decision came in the favor of Riya Banerjee. She got
justice and all thanks to his friend Sumit. The editor, however, was confused on how Sumit
pulled it off. Sumit told him that he first became his intern, then by an anonymous id sent the
story to himself, manipulated the editor to publish it. Then with the help of a friend recorded the
call to send it to the people threatening him so that no one has suspicion on him. When the editor
denied to publish the other half of the article, created an anonymous blog and published it. The
editor was impressed with Sumit and promised him that he would no longer be a coward and
show the true power of media to the world. We all need to responsible in what we do and it is our
duty to be truthful to our profession.
' Let the people know the facts, and the country will be safe' -Abraham Lincoln
' Whoever controls the media controls the mind.' -Jim Morrison
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