What upset television news channels more? The cost of the Lamborghini, which reportedly injured at least six people in a Kanpur road accident on Sunday — or that the rich ‘VVIP brat’, accused of driving the car, is still free?
Difficult to choose between them.
Yes, TV news was very angry about the ‘raizada’ (Republic Bharat) being “shielded” (India Today), and about the “callousness and collusion” of the Kanpur police (CNN News 18).
Headlines across channels said the accused’s name was not mentioned in the initial FIR. Worse, after being named in the FIR, he was able to “flee to Delhi” (Aaj Tak) and is still “on the run” (NDTV 24×7).
However, television news channels were also mightily impressed by the background of the “brat”, Shivam Mishra.
Throughout Monday and Tuesday, we were repeatedly reminded that he is the son of a “tobacco tycoon” (Times Now), a “tobacco czar” (Republic), who lives in a large mansion. And he did not own just a Lamborghini; he owned a “fleet” of expensive cars, too (CNN News 18).
Lamborghini. TV news used every occasion to name the vehicle — as if an accident in such an expensive car was particularly unforgivable.
Again and again, channels stressed that the Lamborghini was very, very expensive. “Car worth crores,” said Times Now Navbharat and News 18 India.
Aaj Tak claimed it cost Rs 12 crore.
The Economic Times put the cost at Rs 10 crore. But let’s not quibble over figures: the Lamborghini is only for multi-crorepatis.
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Of brats and bouncers
The Lamborghini was not the only fascination for TV news channels.
“Brat” was the other favourite word. Seldom, if at all, did news channels refer to Shivam Mishra as anything other than the “brat”: rich brat (ABP News), “VVIP brat” (India Today), “reckless brat” (Times Now), or, “Will the brat get away with it?” (CNN News 18). Brat, brat, brat.
Now, when you hear “brat”, you think of a spoilt young man. According to The Indian Express, Shivam Mishra is 45 years old— so the accused is a 45-year-old, crorepati brat. Odd that. Others, such as Hindustan Times, put him at 26. Either way, TV is certain about the label.
Bouncers. We heard that word often.
To most Indians, a bouncer is the ball bowled in cricket — and there are plenty of them in the current T20 World Cup. So, when TV news continually spoke of “bouncers” following the “brat” in another car, or “bouncers” extricating Shivam Mishra from the Lamborghini, you were looking around for a magic red or white ball, not those big, bulging, muscular men.
Just kidding.
Once it was established that Shivam Mishra was a tobacco tycoon’s “rich, arrogant, shameless brat” (NDTV 24×7) who drove a Lamborghini and kept bouncers to protect him, news channels went after the Kanpur police.
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Cops and TV detectives
It was the Kanpur police who gave Shivam Mishra a “free run” to Delhi, where he was admitted to a hospital (NDTV 24×7).
It was the Kanpur police who didn’t name him in the FIR following the road accident, said news channels. “Why isn’t he named?” asked India Today. “Lamborghini Mayhem – Shocking he has not been named,” declared CNN News 18.
Channels kept up the pressure with their questions — and then claimed victory when Mishra’s name was finally added to the FIR.
NDTV, India Today, and Republic congratulated themselves for forcing the police to act.
“Big impact,” said Republic.
“System quaked by NDTV questions,” boasted NDTV 24×7.
Once Mishra’s name was added to the FIR, the news channels followed the police to his home in Kanpur.
“Drama unfolds,” reported CNN News 18. Not that we saw any. A police officer politely knocked on the closed gate. “Nobody opened and the police didn’t bother to go in,” said the CNN News 18 reporter, adding indignantly, “This would not have happened with others.”
By “others”, we presume she meant the less privileged. “The talk of the town is the shocking apathy of the police,” she announced.
India TV, too, showed the policeman’s feeble and unsuccessful efforts to enter the Mishra home and wondered why they didn’t enter.
“Why is the police behaving like this?” asked News 18 India.
“No arrest, no blood tests…” reported Republic. “This is money and power.”
On Tuesday, the news channels played detective. When Shivam’s father, KK Mishra, and his lawyer claimed that he was not driving the Lamborghini at the time of the accident — that the driver was at the steering wheel — news channels hunted out CCTV footage and tried to show us that Shivam was the sole occupant of the car. His “bouncers” followed in another car behind him.
We couldn’t see anything clearly, but the channels would be foolish to make such a claim if it were untrue.
Then they pounced on footage of Shivam being removed from the damaged Lamborghini. “He has been pulled out from the driver’s seat,” said the Times Now anchor and many others.
When the father spoke to the media, he claimed that his son wasn’t feeling well in the car and that the driver was trying to assist him when a tempo banged into the Lamborghini, sending it out of control.
This was too much for TV news channels.
“Tycoon tries every trick in the book,” said India Today.
“Who will buy his theory?” added Republic TV. “Will the police buy this? Is there a cover-up?”
On Tuesday, the Kanpur Police Commissioner confirmed to news channels that Shivam Mishra was driving the car at the time of the accident.
That must have pleased the television news channels.
The author tweets @shailajabajpai. Views are personal.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)