Two days after a Moon TV-Times Now sting operation exposed how both factions of the AIADMK had allegedly tried to bribe legislators ahead of the crucial trust vote in February this year, a 'slander campaign' has allegedly been initiated against Moon TV's Managing Director Shahnawaz Khan.
Meanwhile, after he allegedly received threatening calls over the sting, he has filed a complaint with the Chennai police and sought police protection.
A video that is doing the rounds on social media claims that Khan, who is also the Director of the Southern Institute of Professional Studies, peddles vulgar content on a website he runs. The parent website, according to the video, is for the 'Centre for Culture and Media Studies' that the journalist runs. Another link within the website, they allege, leads you to a site with obscene images and videos.
Khan has however denied that he runs the site and has filed a formal complaint with the DGP in Chennai.
"The website under my control is for the domain name southerninstitute.in. I do not even have a website for the Centre for Culture and Media Studies," says Shahnawaz. "We started the Institute in Tiruchy eight years back. We expanded to Ramanathapuram in 2016 and then to Chennai," he adds.
The domain that has these obscene videos has been created in 2016 as well but the registrant's name is Muthu Kumar and it has been created in Ramapuram in Chennai. Shahnawaz says he suspects that members of the OPS faction may have put out this video in order to save face.
"The sting operation has exposed that he knew RK Nagar polls will be cancelled, it showed that there was no mystery to Jayalalithaa's death and also dented his 'clean' image. He has lost everything," says Shahnawaz.
"In addition to this, at the end, they attempt to glorify MLA Saravanan who revealed all the information to us," he adds.
Shanawas has filed a complaint with the DGP.