Director Doordarshan Srinagar Shami Shair attached

Prasar Bharti takes serious note of tainted anchor’s return to morning show; Wadera appointed as new Director

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Sep 13: Taking serious notice of yesterday’s lead story in Early Times over the audacious return of a tainted female anchor to her morning show after her release on bail, Prasar Bharti has attached Director Doordarshan Kendra (DDK) Srinagar, Mrs Shami Shair, to the Doordarshan headquarters in New Delhi with immediate effect. She has been relieved and replaced by Director DDK Leh, Qayoom Wadera.

Highly placed sources in Prasar Bharti headquarters revealed that senior most functionaries, including Chief Executive Office (CEO) of the Corporation and Director General of Doordarshan, took cognizance of a detailed story, carried by Early Times in its Wednesday edition, and decided to initiate the corrective measures. After completing necessary formalities, including CEO’s approval, Directorate General of Doordarshan ordered Mrs Shami Shair’s attachment order in the evening today.

An exclusive report in this newspaper had revealed how some DDK Srinagar officials managed to get the tainted anchor back to her show on September 11^th in an official vehicle from her residence. On the basis of inputs from insiders, ET had reported that DD’s Additional Director General, Ashok Jailkhani, and Director DDK Srinagar, Shami Shair, facilitated the female anchor’s return to the daily morning show “Good Morning J&K” hours after she was released on bail from Women’s Police Station Ram Bagh.

However, Mr Jailkhani called this correspondent from his New Delhi office on Wednesday, making it clear that he had no role or knowledge of the tainted anchor’s appearance back in the show on Tuesday. He claimed that he had been completely kept in the dark with regard to the anchor’s arrest in a criminal matter of “making obscene act at a public place” as recorded in FIR No: 110 under section 294 RPC of Police Station Nageen, Hazratbal. Mr Jailkhani claimed that neither the Director DDK Srinagar, Shami Shair, nor anyone else informed him during his over three-day stay in Srinagar that the regular anchor of “Good Morning J&K” had been arrested in a criminal matter and subsequently released on bail.

Taking notice of the story in ET, Mr Jailkhani had banned entry of the controversial actor into DDK Srinagar and all of DD’s programmes with immediate effect yesterday itself. Consequently, the show on September 12^th was hosted by none other than Director DDK Srinagar and producer of the programme Mrs Shami Shair herself.

Even after the Prasar Bharti and DD authorities snubbed Mrs Shammi Shair on her controversial act of getting the tainted anchor back to the show on September 11^th, she called her own sister’s daughter-in-law, Surraya, to appear as c0-anchor of “Good Morning J&K” today. The hour-long live telecast generated tremendous criticism in media and broadcasting circles from Srinagar to Delhi and Directorate General was left with no option other than shifting Mrs Shair immediately.

Order No: 74/2012/S.III issued under No: PF/318/S.III Dated 13-09-2012 by A.K. Gandhi, Deputy Director General of Administration at Directorate General of Doordarshan made it clear that Mrs Shair had been attached to the DD headquarters. The euphemistically draft of the order said that she would remain posted in the same capacity at Directorate General with immediate effect and until further orders.

“Smt. Shami Shair, DDP, DDK, Srinagar is hereby transferred and posted in the same capacity at Directorate General Doordarshan (Hqs), New Delhi, with immediate effect and until further orders. She stands relieved with direction to report at her new place of posting” reads the order of her transfer, made available to Early Times.

It adds: “Shri A.Q.Wadera, DDP, DDK, Leh is hereby transferred and posted in the same capacity as Head of Programme at DDK, Srinagar with immediate effect and until further orders. This issues with the approval of the competent authority”.

Sources said that Mr Abdul Qayoom Wadera, who has been functioning as Deputy Director of Programme at DDK Leh since earlier this year, would return to the Valley and join his new posting as Head of Programme at DDK Srinagar in the afternoon tomorrow.

Kaloo’s bail bond accepted

Meanwhile, the male accused of the criminal case and a ruling National Conference (NC) leader and former MLC, Altaf Ahmad Wani alias Altaf Kaloo, today appeared at Police Station Nageen alongwith a number of his counsels and a few party workers. Sources said that Police entertained his bail bond and gave him receipt of the custody of his Scorpio, a gun license, three ATM cards and other belongings that had been seized from the spot of the Police raid in the evening on September 9^th.

Sources said that after waiting for the SHO at Police Station, Kaloo and his men went to Nageen Club where SHO Nageen, Inspector Imtiyaz, reportedly entertained them with juice and cold drinks. Later, they came back to the Police Station where the accused on bail was made to wait for over an hour. Reports said that he collapsed. He complained to some senior Police officials that he was being “unnecessarily subjected to long spells of wait”. His bail makes him bound to make himself available to Police and cooperate with the investigation.

Principal District and Sessions Judge Srinagar, Mr Mohammad Shafi Khan, will be hearing both parties on maintenance and cancellation of Kaloo’s bail tomorrow. Even as the accused is said to have been treated to juice at Nageen Club today, unconfirmed reports said that Police press for cancellation of his bail and may invoke Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act (PITA) in addition to the soft 294 RPC. PITA awards punishment of rigorous imprisonment upto 10 years to a convict.

As already reported, on September 9^th, Police Station Nageen claimed to have ‘caught red-handed’ Altaf Kaloo in a compromising position with a female anchor of Srinagar Doordarshan. Even as the female was arrested and case FIR No: 110 under section 294 RPC was registered against the duo, the male accused was claimed to have escaped from the spot leaving behind his belongings that included a Scorpio vehicle, three ATM cards, a gun license and a half-consumed bottle of Hundred Piper Whisky. Kaloo has denied the allegations and alleged that his arrest was result of a political conspiracy within his party.

END