Youth detained for exacting money for jobs in news channel

Varanasi, Aug 22 (UNI) A youth was detained in Sigra area here on charges of exacting money from aspirant TV reporters promising them jobs in a Hindi news channel.

Digvijay Mishra, hailing from the neighbouring Chandauli district was detained on charges of exacting money from several youth by promisiomg them jobs in News Times, a Chandigarh headquartered satellite TV channel, police said today.

The local representative of Times Now channel Satyendra Pandey, who went as a decoy 'Surendra Singh' to get the job as a reporter of the channel in Varanasi allegedly paid Rs 30,000 to Mishra.

''We had been getting reports about Mishra exacting money from aspiring reporters by luring into getting them jobs in the News Times channel, which as per Mishra was to become the Hindi news channel of Times Now by the end of 2007,'' Satyendra Pandey claimed here today.

Mishra was detained and interrogated, police added.

Police also recovered Rs 64,000 in cash, CDs and bio-data bearing photographs of candidates who had applied for jobs in the News Times channel.

Mishra pleaded innocence in the entire matter saying he never promised jobs to anyone in return for money in News Times channel, whose franchise for Varanasi and Mirzapur divisions had been given to him by the Chandigarh-headquartered company.

''I am being framed up in the entire matter. I have never charged anything for getting jobs in the channel. Whatever sum has been received was meant to impart on the job training to the selected candidates at our training institite at Hazratganj in Lucknow.'' Mishra also claimed he had never lured anyone with the offer of getting jobs in the Times Now Channel or any of the publications of Times Group.

''I have only been deputed for the task of appointing reporters and camera persons in every assembly constituencies of Varanasi and Mirzapur divisions, besides getting advertisements for the News Times channel which has nothing to do with Times Now.'' UNI