Mumbai Press Club presents awards for crime, sports coverage

Mumbai, Feb 16 (PTI) Journalists G Vinod and SanjayChandrashekhar of Malayala Manorama, who broke the lotteryscam in Kerala, were presented the first-ever "Crime Story ofthe year - 2011" award instituted by the Press Club, Mumbai,at a function here last night.

Syed Bashrat of Kashmir Times was adjudged as runner-upfor his story on crimes against women.

The awards, carrying a total prize money of Rs one lakhand citations, were presented by former IPS officer JulioReberio and former India skipper Ajit Wadekar. Justice(retd) BN Srikrishna and senior journalist Ayaz Memon too were presenton this occasion.

The investigation by G Vinod and Chandrasekhar unearthedmisappropriation and irregularities committed byCoimbatore-based lottery tycoon Santiago Martin, in connivancewith political leaders.

Malayala Manorama, in a series of reports published fromAugust 20, 2010, exposed losses to the state exchequer to thetune of Rs 41 crore per day through illegal sale of Bhutan andSikkim lotteries in Kerala.

In the sports category, the award was bagged by AkshaySawai, sports editor of Open Magazine, for his coverage ofcricket. G S Vivek of Indian Express and Anand Vasu of SportsIllustrated were the runners-up.

The awards were instituted this year in the memory ofveteran crime reporter Pradeep Shinde and wellknown cricketwriter K N Prabhu. .