Television journalist Rajdeep Sardesai found his picture splashed across the front pages of Odia newspaper “Sambad” on Friday morning, not in the capacity of a news anchor but as a terror suspect.
After the “error” was pointed out, the newspaper issued an apology on Twitter.
@sardesairajdeep Sir, we sincerely apologise for this grave error on our part.
— Sambad (@sambad_odisha) September 23, 2016
While the senior journalist “accepted the apology”, he tweeted to say that he expected an apology with “the same prominence” on the front pages of the newspaper.
Apology accepted but expect it with the same prominence on your front page Tomw. And start a refresher course. https://t.co/Z7IAqbUE4a
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 23, 2016
Screenshot of Sambad e-paper
Sambad’s article is related to Thursday’s developments in Mumbai where school children claimed they found a group of men carrying arms near the Uran naval base. While the story does not name Rajdeep Sardesai, the sketch is based on his photograph.
Sardesai blamed right-wing Twitter gangs for the “mischief” alleging that the newspaper’s article was based on their tweets.
Just saw a Odhiya newspaper Sambad puts up my sketch as a terror suspect based on RW Twitter gang mischief.If not war, these guys will kill!
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 23, 2016
He hit out at the “bhakt army” for “photoshopped pics, lies, fake reporting, abuse.”
Photo shopped pics,lies,fake reporting, abuse: what next will this bhakt army stoop to on Twitter? And who will call their diabolical bluff?
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 23, 2016
Sardesai has found himself routinely targeted by trolls on Twitter. He had briefly disabled his Twitter account in May after some users came forward to say they received abusive messages from him. Rajdeep had alleged that his account had been hacked. He had at the time asked for the “character assassination” to stop.