Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: November 07, 2022 at 20:16 IST
Journalist and news presenter Deepak Chaurasia has been given an arrest warrant by a special court in Gurugram for allegedly showing “morphed, manipulated, and obscene” videos of a 10-year-old girl and her family and connecting them to the sexual assault case against godman Asaram Bapu.
Shashi Chauhan, an Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ), issued the warrant for the arrest on November 21, 2022.
“Deepak Chaurasia, the applicant and accused, has his bail revoked. His surety bond and bail bond have been cancelled and turned over to the State. A warrant for Deepak Chaurasia’s arrest is to be issued on November 21, 2022.”
The Court mandated that notice be given to his surety under Section 446 CrPC and that his identification be issued on the scheduled date.
The court expressed its displeasure over Chaurasia’s absence in the order issued on October 28 and noted that while a request for exemption from personal appearance had been made claiming that he had to be taken to the hospital immediately due to low blood sugar levels, neither a medical certificate nor an affidavit had been provided to support the claim.
Justice Chauhan added that it appears Chaurasia is purposefully evading him because a similar application was filed even on September 23.
The Court stated that there is no evidence to support the exemption application, hence it is denied.
The case concerns a first information report (FIR) that was filed in December 2013 in response to a complaint from the child’s relative.
The video was allegedly broadcast on the news networks News24, India News, and News Nation.
According to sources, among the eight people charged in the case are Chaurasia, former News 24 managing editor Ajit Anjum, and anchor Chitra Tripathi.
The complainant’s wife, the girl child, and a few other women’s faces are said to have been partially visible in the film that was shown on various news networks.
Additionally, the court has issued warrants with the ability to post bail for ACP Surender, Inspector Jitender, and Inspector Sanjay. They are identified as the case’s investigating officers (IOs).