Irked over his absence, a special POCSO court in Gurugram has now issued directions that anchor Deepak Chaurasia should be arrested under a non-bailable warrant on or before November 21 – the next date of hearing. The court has also issued similar directions for Lalit Singh Badgurjar, a reporter.
The case pertains to an FIR based on a complaint filed by a child’s relative on December 15, 2013. It accused three news channels – News24, India News and News Nation – of airing “morphed” videos. Former News24 managing editor Ajit Anjum, Aaj Tak anchor Chitra Tripathi, and former News Nation anchor Deepak Chaurasia are among eight people chargesheeted in 2020 and 2021 for airing “edited”, “obscene” videos of a 10-year-old child and her family, and linking the video to the sexual assault case against self-styled godman Asaram Bapu.
