Bharat’s leading English-language daily The Times of India (TOI) continued its hoary tradition of publishing fake or misleading articles, even on the last day of 2022. It published an article claiming that ‘3 Indian Army officials were arrested on Friday from Jaipur by CBI for bribery’, a claim which has been outrightly rejected by the Army.
The TOI article alleged that the arrested officials included IFA (Integrated Financial Advisor) Shankar Khushwana, junior translator Ram Roop Meena, and an unnamed AO (Accounts Officer) – all 3 working with the South Western Command of the Indian Army – apart from 4 others working with private firms. The group was allegedly involved in bribery to get contracts related to outsourcing of conservancy services for various locations in South Western Command.
The article claimed that cash totallng ₹40 lakhs and property-related and other incriminating documents were seized in raids from various locations across Rajasthan and Punjab by the CBI. TOI even quoted a CBI spokesperson named RC Joshi in the article.
However, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information (ADGPI) department of the Indian Army rubbished the claims made by the English daily. In a tweet, the @adpgi official handle tweeted “‘Misleading Article’ It is clarified that “NO Army official has been arrested” as mentioned in this article in the Times of India, Jaipur Edition of 31 December 2022. ToI is requested to ensure due editorial diligence to prevent such grave errors in the future.”
Even the government’s Press Information Bureau Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) unit has called out Times of India previously for publishing fake news.
So the question upper most on netizen’s minds is when will the government I&B (Information & Broadcasting) ministry take effective, deterrent action against the rampant fake and manipulated news issue plaguing our mainstream media?
