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Narada sting operation
The Narada sting operation was a sting operation carried out by journalist Mathew Samuel targeting high-ranking officials and politicians of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). It showed several politicians and a high-ranked police officer accepting cash bribes in exchange for providing unofficial favors to a company.
Performed in 2014 for the Indian news-magazine Tehelka, it was published on a private website months before the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections.
As of June 2017[update], the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and a parliamentary ethics committee are probing the case. The Trinamool Congress has rejected the allegations and has claimed that the money was received in the way of donations.
Mathew Samuel is a former managing editor of Tehelka, a news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. He was one of the main principals behind the sting operation West End which spawned a miniature democratic crisis in 2001 and eventually led to the resignation of Defence Minister George Fernandes and later, the conviction of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Bangaru Laxman.
Around 2014, the Tehelka administration floated the idea of a sting operation in an effort "to come back into the market with a good story; with a bang". Samuel and his team initially opted for either Madhya Pradesh or Himachal Pradesh, but the opportunities never materialized. The ruling government in Madhya Pradesh was led by BJP and Samuel did not wish to be identified as a journalist who solely targeted the BJP governments whilst the political atmosphere of Himachal Pradesh was too quiet to be conducive for a sting operation.
It was around this time the Saradha Group financial scandal surfaced in West Bengal. Samuel felt that the corruption unearthed until then was only "the tip of the iceberg" and the team accordingly zeroed in on the politicians of West Bengal as their target.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Mathew Samuel said he was inspired by Israeli Mossad officer Mike Harari. He had asked a friend to create a cover for him as a high official of the fictitious Chennai-based firm Impex Consultancy Solutions. An Aadhaar card in the name of Santhosh Shankaran was issued for Samuel and social-media profiles were created.
While trying to gauge the mood of the public, they chanced upon a taxi-driver who introduced them to a person who was locally known as 'Tiger'. Samuel claims that 'Tiger' initially introduced him to Iqbal Ahmed, the then deputy mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, and IPS officer S. M. H. Mirza. They were then supposedly acquainted with Sultan Ahmed (Iqbal's brother), Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim and Aparupa Poddar. Mirza also introduced him to Madan Mitra and Mukul Roy. And, each of these meetings proliferated in the development of further connections. In Samuel's words: "It was almost like a chain reaction".
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Narada sting operation
The Narada sting operation was a sting operation carried out by journalist Mathew Samuel targeting high-ranking officials and politicians of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC). It showed several politicians and a high-ranked police officer accepting cash bribes in exchange for providing unofficial favors to a company.
Performed in 2014 for the Indian news-magazine Tehelka, it was published on a private website months before the 2016 West Bengal Assembly elections.
As of June 2017[update], the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Enforcement Directorate (ED) and a parliamentary ethics committee are probing the case. The Trinamool Congress has rejected the allegations and has claimed that the money was received in the way of donations.
Mathew Samuel is a former managing editor of Tehelka, a news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. He was one of the main principals behind the sting operation West End which spawned a miniature democratic crisis in 2001 and eventually led to the resignation of Defence Minister George Fernandes and later, the conviction of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Bangaru Laxman.
Around 2014, the Tehelka administration floated the idea of a sting operation in an effort "to come back into the market with a good story; with a bang". Samuel and his team initially opted for either Madhya Pradesh or Himachal Pradesh, but the opportunities never materialized. The ruling government in Madhya Pradesh was led by BJP and Samuel did not wish to be identified as a journalist who solely targeted the BJP governments whilst the political atmosphere of Himachal Pradesh was too quiet to be conducive for a sting operation.
It was around this time the Saradha Group financial scandal surfaced in West Bengal. Samuel felt that the corruption unearthed until then was only "the tip of the iceberg" and the team accordingly zeroed in on the politicians of West Bengal as their target.
In an interview with The Telegraph, Mathew Samuel said he was inspired by Israeli Mossad officer Mike Harari. He had asked a friend to create a cover for him as a high official of the fictitious Chennai-based firm Impex Consultancy Solutions. An Aadhaar card in the name of Santhosh Shankaran was issued for Samuel and social-media profiles were created.
While trying to gauge the mood of the public, they chanced upon a taxi-driver who introduced them to a person who was locally known as 'Tiger'. Samuel claims that 'Tiger' initially introduced him to Iqbal Ahmed, the then deputy mayor of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, and IPS officer S. M. H. Mirza. They were then supposedly acquainted with Sultan Ahmed (Iqbal's brother), Subrata Mukherjee, Firhad Hakim and Aparupa Poddar. Mirza also introduced him to Madan Mitra and Mukul Roy. And, each of these meetings proliferated in the development of further connections. In Samuel's words: "It was almost like a chain reaction".