Kerala-based tabloid Karma News faces allegations of extortion, blackmail

Malayalam digital news tabloid, Karma News, is facing multiple charges of extortion and blackmail. The portal, whose content observers describe as a curious mix of rightwing Christian and Hindutva propaganda, is run by its Kerala-based CEO PR Somdev and Perth-Australia based MD Vince Mathew. At least three police complaints have been filed in 2022 and 2023 against Somdev and Mathew as well as other reporters of Karma News for alleged extortion and blackmail in police stations in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. These cases received media attention after Easwaran Potti, a former journalist with the channel and co-accused in one of the cases, spoke openly against the firm alleging that their modus operandi was of threatening to air news reports with the intention of blackmailing people and businesses.

Karma News, which has published stories that are sensationals and many times catering to an audience composed of right wing Christians and Hindus, is owned by Galaxy Zoom India Pvt Ltd. Vince Mathew is described by the website as a former journalist with the Mathrubhumi newspaper and a lawyer. PR Somdev is the founder of  the NGO Parvasidhi Foundation and an RSS worker. Their YouTube channel and Facebook pages have a subscriber base of more than one million each.

The most recent complaint against the portal was filed at the Fort Police Station in Thiruvananthapuram by an infertility hospital, which accused the CEO of Karma News and its reporter of demanding Rs 1 crore to avoid reports that would harm the clinic’s reputation.

The complaint filed by Joby PC, General Manager of Yana Mother and Child Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, on July 2, 2023, (FIR 0855/2023) said Karma News, along with a couple identified as Sujith Krishna and Sithara, who had sought treatment at the facility, blackmailed them to pay Rs 1 crore for avoiding adverse reports.

The FIR named Somdev, CEO of the channel and Sijo, a reporter, along with the couple who allegedly suffered a miscarriage. All the four have been booked under I,PC sections 511, 384 (extortion), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34(Acts done by several persons with common intention). The complainant alleged that the channel published a story on June 28, 2023, against the hospital with an intention to blackmail the management for money.

¨Somdev had earlier approached us asking for money, threatening to shut down our hospital if we did not agree,¨ Joby said. After the hospital filed a complaint, Karma News aired a video apologising to the hospital saying that their stories were wrong. They also removed their negative stories.

¨IVF success rates are low everywhere in the country. Patients will have many doubts when treatment fails. In this case they used the story as propaganda,” Joby told TNM.

In May 2022, Midhun PP, Chief Executive Officer of Spices Producer Company (SPC), filed a police complaint in Infopark Police Station, Kochi, alleging that Easwaran Potti, a reporter with the Karma News channel, had sought a payment of Rs 50 lakh from them to avoid publishing of adverse reports against the company. The FIR (0373/2022) named Easwaran Potti and Vince Mathew, Managing Director of Karma News, who were booked under I,PC sections 384 and 386 (Extortion), IPC 506 (Criminal intimidation) and IPC 34 (criminal act done by several persons with common intention).

The SPC filed another complaint against Karma News in March, 2023, against Karma News alleging extortion and black mailing.

Midhun said they first saw Potti shooting visuals of their office building on March 8, 2022 without their permission. “I was asked to meet him in an apartment on March 11, where he along with another person, who had tattoos on his body, forcefully took my phone away to stop me from recording anything. They said Karma was planning a ‘negative campaign’ against SPC which could be avoided if we pay them Rs 50 lakh. Additionally, Potti and the person along with him wanted Rs 2 lakh each. I got out saying I need to talk about this with the company’s management,” said Midhun. As they refused to comply, Karma began airing a series of news reports against the company, some of which are still available on their channel. “They did around 13 reports against us alleging that farmers suffered because of the poor quality of our fertilisers from 2017. This was a blatant lie since we had started manufacturing organic fertiliser only in 2020,” said Midhun.

Easwaran Potti told TNM that he was sent to do a story on SPC by the management. “While we were on the story they (the company) approached us after contacting Vince Mathew. Vince asked me to demand Rs 50 lakh from them and also an extra amount for our expenses. We demanded Rs 50 lakh as directed by him but did not ask Rs 2 lakh extra as alleged. The company said they are not interested and we left,¨ he said.

SPC has also filed a defamation suit against them in Devikulam munsiff court seeking Rs 1 crore as damages for a Karma News report in which farmers are seen levelling allegations against the company.

Midhun said Vince Mathew approached them again after the company launched an education app called Prana Insight saying they had fired Easwaran Potti because he did those stories at the bidding of chemical fertiliser companies and that Karma would help them manage reputation if they pay them Rs 50 lakh.

“A meeting was scheduled at the hotel Grand Hyatt in Kochi. But instead of Vince a person called Amjad turned up. He introduced himself as an underworld don and asked us for payment,” alleged Midhun.

Later, Somdev, the CEO of the company, allegedly called them for a meeting at Holiday Inn in Kochi on February 15, 2023. ‘He introduced himself as an RSS man and said Karma would help them if they commit to payment of Rs 50 lakh based on an invoice,” he alleged. The demand felt like extortion and they did not entertain them further, said Midhun. In April, 2023, they started airing reports against the app, alleging cheating and fraud.

“SPC filed another police complaint  against Karma News at Palarivattom police station in April this year,” said Midhun. The FIR (0670/2023) names Vince Mathew and Somdev, who have been charged under I,PC sections 385 and 34. It states that the accused threatened the company that they would realise the power of media and Sangham (RSS) if they fail to cooperate with Karma News.

Easwaran Potti, who worked with the channel till 2021, told TNM that he was forced to do many fake stories scripted by the channel management. ¨They will always tell us what to do and where to go. There will be people ready to give us sound bytes. One person arranged by the channel will be taking us to the field,” he alleged.

He alleged that many stories he did for the news platform were not published and this is when he realised blackmailing was happening in the background. “They include stories done against prominent jewellers and builders. They might have blackmailed and taken the money,” Potti, who has been named in an extortion case, alleged.

Anish Raj, a former CEO of Karma News, alleged that the management targeted him after he left the organisation. “After I resigned they sent goons to attack me and my wife suffered a miscarriage because of it. They think that I will spill their secrets. They also filed some fake cases against me,” he alleged. He however refused to answer questions related to allegations of extortion by the company.

Karma News, while responding to the allegations, through an email said they had withdrawn their news report against Yana Hospital and apologised after learning that it was factually incorrect. They however denied the allegation the organisation had attempted to blackmail them. Referring to the extortion allegations levelled by the SPC, Karma News said they had written to the company asking them to inform them about any factually incorrect reports but failed to get a response from them. Karma News also claimed that the agricultural department had taken action against SPC based on their reports and allegations of blackmail are without merit.

Newslaundry and Confluence Media Online Ventures Private Limited had filed a defamation suit against Karma News after they aired several reports against the media event 'Cutting South 2023" held in Kochi in March.

The reports alleged that the event, held in partnership with The News Minute and Kerala Media Academy, an autonomous body under the Kerala Government, were intended at "to separate the country and divide India into North and South creating a United States of India or South India.” Apart from a mandatory injunction, the petitioners also sought Rs 2 crore as damages and an apology. The Delhi High Court had given a stay order on Karma News.