Reporters Without Orders

This week, host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Avdhesh Kumar and Sumedha Mittal.Avdhesh talks about his first story in the series ‘Half Encounter’, or what the Uttar Pradesh Police call “Operation Langda”, which is a practice where police shoot suspects in the leg to capture them alive. Once hit, the accused collapses, and the police make the arrest.“Hemant, a young DJ from Mathura, was wrongfully picked up by UP police and shot in the leg,” says Avdesh, who elaborated on the details of the fake encounter. He said 9,467 suspects were shot in the leg by UP police under the operation since 2017. Sumedha discusses her report, which reveals that the LG of Jammu and Kashmir spent Rs 70 crore on print ads, with Rs 12 crore worth of ads given to just five newspapers. “There is a concern over the discrimination in how ad money is distributed in Kashmir. The top three dailies that received the most ad money had overwhelmingly pro-LG Manoj Sinha and pro-Modi coverage,” she said.   Avdesh also talks about his coverage of the recent protests by SSC students and teachers over multiple last-minute exam cancellations, the selection of a blacklisted vendor, failure to issue admit cards on time, and poor administrative coordination.Timecodes:00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:10 - Half Encounter Story 00:16:21 - Kashmir Newspaper Ads 00:26:11 - SSC protests 00:31:08 - Half Encounter00:32:30 - Recommendations AvdheshAnnihilation of Caste - Dr. BR AmbedkarInsurance scams: मरे हुए 'ज़िंदा', ठगे गए परिवार, कहां तक फैले हैं घोटाले के तार?- ग्राउंड रिपोर्टSumedha SaiyaaraShivnarayanExclusive: India’s e-waste mirage, ‘crores in corporate fraud’ amid govt lapses, public suffering Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Pratyush Deep is joined by Newslaundry’s Drishti Choudhary and Sumedha Mittal.Drishti reported on how elite societies in Delhi have encroached on public footpaths. During visits to several gated colonies, she found that sidewalks next to posh homes were taken over by landlords – with parked cars, potted plants, guard booths, and other structures eating into public space. In some cases, the encroachments even forced roads to become one-way. She pointed out the stark double standard: while the government is quick to demolish slums and informal settlements, it turns a blind eye to violations by the well-off.Sumedha discussed her report on the detention of Bengali and Assamese migrant workers in Gurugram in makeshift centres. She found that Bengali-speaking Muslims, especially those living in slums across Delhi and Gurugram, have been detained on suspicion of being undocumented Bangladeshi immigrants. Families allege that police arrived at midnight, demanded identity papers, and in some cases picked up individuals despite them showing valid documents – including voter IDs, Aadhaar cards, and passports. No formal notice was given.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:38 - Elite encroachment00:25:45 - Detained migrants00:33:20 - RecommendationsRecommendationsSumedhaF1H-Pop: The Secretive World of Hindutva Pop StarsDrishtiSupermanPratyushPedestrian zones as driveways, parking lots: The elite encroachments Delhi won’t touchProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by journalist Umesh Kumar Ray and Anmol Pritam.Umesh shares his experience of reporting from ground zero in Bihar, where the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is underway ahead of the assembly elections. The way this massive exercise is being carried out, he says, is burdening the state’s people who are forced to prove their citizenship, creating a panic-like situation.Anmol talks about his report on the chaos that unfolded after a piece of onion was found in a meal served to the Kanwariyas at the Baba Balaknath Dhaba in Muzaffarnagar, which triggered ​​vandalism of the dhaba, resulting in smashed chairs, tables, fridges, fans, and glass panels by the mob. The owner claimed that the Kanwariyas not only vandalised the dhaba but also brutally attacked their staff with hockey sticks, with a 40-year-old staff member ending up with a broken leg.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:26 - SIR in Bihar00:21:28 - Kanwariyas and Chaos00:35:56 - RecommendationsRecommendationsAnmol PritamUttarakhand : Hindu Rashtra की टेस्ट लैब बनती देवभूमि | Ground ReportBasant KumarThe RSS Does Not Exist Mapping the hidden structure of an unaccountable organisationProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL TeamThis week, host Anmol Pritam is joined by Newslaunndry’s Prateek Goyal, and Basant Kumar. Reporting from Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, Prateek uncovers a chilling case of alleged police brutality that led to the death of Sadiq Ali Jafri. While the police claim Jafri died of natural causes, his wife and family allege he was killed in a police chokehold as part of a deliberate cover-up. They say the family was harassed in the aftermath – Sadiq’s father was jailed for over a year, one brother remains behind bars, and his wife, Saiba, is now battling a hostile system in her fight for justice.Prateek’s investigation reveals how the police allegedly tampered with the postmortem report and fabricated witnesses to shield themselves. This harrowing story is part of Newslaundry’s NL Sena series on police impunity.Meanwhile, Basant reports from Gujarat, uncovering how Muslims remain trapped under the Disturbed Areas Act. In Vadodara, he tells the story of Onali, a local who has spent years fighting to take possession of land he legally purchased.Onali and his brother-in-law bought a plot in Champaner Darwaza, Fatehpura, back in 2016. But when Onali applied to the deputy collector’s office for permission to transfer the property, as required under the Disturbed Areas Act, his request was denied. He has since been caught in a relentless loop of court hearings and police visits, struggling to claim what is rightfully his.Onali believes the opposition from local Hindu residents is the key reason behind the continued deadlock.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:29 -  How Muslims struggle to buy property in Gujarat00:09:01 - I can’t breathe: Maharashtra man’s ‘last words in police chokehold’00:35:04 - RecommendationsRecommendationsPrateekThe HuntBasantElevenHow Muslims struggle to buy property in GujaratAnmolHow Muslims struggle to buy property in GujaratProduced and edited by Tista Roy Chowdhury, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NL TeamThis week, host Sumedha Mittal is joined by The Caravan’s Sunil Kashyap, and Jatinder Kaur Tur.Jatinder reports from Kashmir, where three bodies of locals who were in police detention surfaced in the Veshaw River. Following the Pahalgam terror attack, Kashmiris felt being suspected and criminalised. Amid rampant arrests and deaths, families like that of Nazir Ahmad Magray – whose 20-year-old son was taken in a night raid by the Jammu and Kashmir Police’s Special Operations Group – have been left shattered.“We are talking about three brothers [and one man] who went missing and there was no believable story from the police. It is said that they drowned in Veshaw river or naala, which was completely dry and no one could have drowned there,” says Jatinder.Meanwhile, Sunil's report uncovers an unseen, unheard truth from Bihar. At Bodh Gaya’s Mahabodhi Mahavihara – a sacred Buddhist site – Buddhist monks and Dalit-Bahujan groups are protesting the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, which mandates Hindu involvement in managing the temple. This stems from centuries of Hindu appropriation of the site, despite its centrality to Buddhism. “The Hindu Sangh sees Buddhism, not Islam, as its biggest ideological challenge,” says Sunil.  Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:02 - Kashmir police silences questions as bodies emerge from the Veshaw River00:20:59 - The Bodh Gaya Protest00:45: 37 - RecommendationsRecommendationsJatinder How to Forgive Sunil In 6 months, Fadnavis seat added 29,219 voters. Poll staff claim lapsesA flurry of new voters? The curious case of Kamthi, where the Maha BJP chief wonSumedha A border ran through it: The life and lonely death of an 80-year-old Kashmiri manProduced and edited by Saif Ekram and Tista Roy Chowdhury, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week’s host Shivnarayan Rajpurohit is joined by Newslaundry’s Prateek Goyal and Basant Kumar.Prateek talks about his report on the increasing interference of Hindutva outfits in the Christian schools of Madhya Pradesh. The situation, he explains, has worsened to such an extent that it has led to FIRs against school authorities, and even raids, and vandalism in schools. Even teachers are threatened by students, Prateek adds. Basant reported from ground zero in Ahmedabad, where the Air India plane crashed killed more than 270 people. He shares his experience of talking to families who lost their loved ones and how difficult it was for the authorities to match DNAs of the people who got killed in the crash with their families. Another report from Ahmedabad looked at how the everyday lives of 17 people, who weren’t passengers, were also cut short in an instant in the plane crash.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:00:56 - Vandalism in Christian schools00:06:15 - Ahmedabad plane crash00:33:20 - RecommendationsRecommendationsPrateekAir India crash: Casualties that weren’t passengersBasantIn 6 months, Fadnavis seat added 29,219 voters. Poll staff claim lapsesProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Pratyush Deep is joined by Newslaundry’s Shivnarayan Rajpurohit and Sumedha Mittal.Shivnarayan talks about his profile of BJP president JP Nadda, diving deep into his rise from an ABVP worker to the president of the world’s largest political party. He also sheds light on the Chetna Sansthan, an NGO run by Nadda’s wife which received significant corporate and government-linked CSR funding after the BJP came to power.Sumedha talks about her report which looks at an unusual surge in the number of voters in Devendra Fadnavis’s constituency in Nagpur South West between the 2024 Lok Sabha and Maharashtra elections. A section of poll staff told her about alleged lapses in the manner these voters were added to the electoral rolls. Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:36 - J P Nadda00:21:59 - Unusual spike in the voter roll00:33:20 - RecommendationsRecommendationsShivnarayanSirSumedhaOfficial SecretsPratyushThe Bilaspur blueprint: JP Nadda’s political rise and the parallel growth of his family-run NGOIn 6 months, Fadnavis seat added 29,219 voters. Poll staff claim lapsesProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Avdhesh Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Sumedha Mittal, BBC’s Abhinav Goel and reporter Akansha Kumar. Abhinav presents an in-depth report on the true death toll of the Mahakumbh Mela tragedy that happened in January. While the Uttar Pradesh government has officially acknowledged 37 deaths due to the stampede, BBC’s investigation has uncovered at least 82 fatalities so far. Despite government promises, many of the victims' families have yet to receive the promised compensation.Akansha uncovers allegations of police impunity in Kaushambi in Uttar Pradesh. Her deep dive into police encounters in Uttar Pradesh reveal chilling accounts from families who lost loved ones in suspected extrajudicial killings.Several families allege that police not only carried out unlawful encounters but also attempted to silence them with bribes. Many of these encounters took place in the same location: Goonghwa Ka Bagh in Kaushambi. Affected families are running from pillar to post in their fight for justice and accountability.Meanwhile, Sumedha brings a sharply different story from Delhi. Since his appointment as Lieutenant Governor in May 2022, VK Saxena was known for publicly targeting the AAP-led government over civic issues. However, his stance appears to have softened following the BJP’s rise to power in February 2025.Sumedha’s report explores this shift in tone – tracing how the LG's confrontational approach has evolved and what it reveals about the changing political dynamics in the capital.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:01:04 - Beyond 82: The Controversy Over Kumbh Stampede Casualties00:31:20 - Encounter Raj in UP: A Deep Dive into Its Persistent Reality00:52:24 -  Dynamics Between Delhi's LG and the Ruling Party: An observer’s view00:59: 58 - RecommendationsRecommendationsAbhinavThe Unwomanly Face of WarThe Sharp Knife of MemorySumedha Rahul Gandhi writes: Match-fixing MaharashtraToday in Politics: Congress to make people aware of Rahul’s ‘fixing polls claims’ with processions across MaharashtraAkansha Among the Trolls: My Journey Through ConspiracylandAvdheshDr. Ambedkar: Life And MissionProduced and edited by Hassan Bilal and Tista Roy Chowdhury, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Anmol Pritam is joined by Newslandry’s Basant Kumar and The Reporters' Collective’s Ayushi Kar.Ayushi talks about her report on the recent controversy between content creators and the news agency ANI. She explains how India’s guidelines on fair uses are not so publicly disclosed which leads to such disputes. Some of YouTube’s policies of fair use are also undefined that is why ANI weaponises its claim on their videos, she adds.Basant reported on the shift of Gujarat Samachar, a prominent newspaper in Gujarat, which once stood by the then CM Narendra Modi during the 2002 Godhara riots. He explains how the nature between Modi and the organisation changed over time and the situation worsened to such an extent that it led to ED and IT searches.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:04:04 - ANI vs content creators00:18:15 - Gujarat Samachar00:49:39 - RecommendationsRecommendationsAyushiMy Year of MeatsBasantANI Finds Business Niche In Copyright Claims Against YouTubersपहली बार सांसद बने बृजभूषण सिंह के बेटे को मिला मंत्रियों वाला बंगला, गेट पर अभी भी पापा का नाम दर्जAnmolANI’s news business: ‘PR’ contracts with CMs, podcasts and a quest for powerProduced and edited by Saif Ali Ekram, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, host Basant Kumar is joined by Newslaundry’s Anmol Pritam and The News Minute’s Nidhi Suresh.While the rest of the country exhaled a sigh of relief at the announcement of a ceasefire in the India-Pakistan conflict, Poonch held its breath – and bled quietly.   Nidhi and Anmol were on the ground, when the cross-border shelling began. Thirteen lives were lost. Thirteen names that won’t make it into strategic briefings or celebration speeches. Parents buried their twins, Zain Ali and Urwa Fatima – born five minutes apart, and died  five minutes apart. In another home, a wedding that was about to be planned turned into a funeral when the father of the bride-to-be never came home. These aren’t just tragic anecdotes. This is the aftermath of a conflict that never really ends for the people living on its edge. Nidhi and Anmol’s reports on the families in both the city and the villages reveal that all of them carry the same expression – numb, disbelief, and tired of being forgotten. Their stories don’t scream, they ache. And in that ache lies a quiet question: why is Poonch always left behind?They came back with more than interviews. They came back with grief, with names, with stories that deserve to be told. Stories of loss, of resilience, of people who live through war long after the last gun falls silent.Tune in.Timecodes00:00:00 - Introduction00:02:15 - From Tension to Tranquility: Ceasefire was announced 00:09:34 - Shelling without Warning: The Unseen Threat Lurked in Poonch00:36:56 - Misinformation flooded in mainstream  and social media 00:43: 58 - RecommendationsRecommendationsNidhiSociety Girl: A Tale of Sex, Lies, and Scandal  AnmolSaving Private RyanBasantAmerican Man Hunt: Osama Bin Laden Produced and edited by Hassan Bilal, Ashish Anand and Tista Roy Chowdhury, recorded by Anil Kumar. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.