Stop the mischief

Note from the editor

Truth is the first casualty of war, the ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus told us. Were he alive today, he might have observed that truth has died of unnatural causes in the reportage surrounding the murder of MiD DAY's Crime and Investigations Editor J Dey.

If reports in leading newspapers and television news channels quoting unnamed police officers are to be believed, Dey: a) Was a conduit for underworld don Chhota Shakeel; b) Regularly travelled abroad to meet underworld dons; c) Was "close" to underworld don Chhota Rajan; d) Was to go to the Philippines in June to give away Rajan's location to Chhota Shakeel; e) Met another underworld don, Iqbal Mirchi, in London during a personal visit.

Unfortunately, these allegations are taken as gospel truth in the absence of a motive being established by the Mumbai Police, or definitive proof being provided by the police to establish their mischievous leaks. As a result, Dey's name has been tarnished by a combination of leak-happy cops wanting their 15 minutes of fame and sloppy reporting by some experienced crime journalists.

But, as Joint Commissioner (Crime) Himanshu Roy of the Mumbai Police pointed out to this newspaper yesterday, "Nothing has come up in our investigation that would put J Dey's integrity into question." So who's leaking the "information", and why would anyone do that in the first place?

Merely saying that Dey was "in touch" with Chhota Rajan or Chhota Shakeel does not make him "close" to the two underworld dons. In fact, crime reporters have to be constantly in touch with the underworld and vice-versa. Like it or not, it is a symbiotic relationship that has worked for decades in journalism. Reporters have gleaned information from the underworld, and whenever the dons needed to put forth a point of view, they have called up reporters and got their Page 1 story.

There is also wild speculation about Dey's Philippines trip and how he planned the trip to meet Chhota Shakeel and pass on information about the whereabouts of Chhota Rajan. First, Dey was asked by me to go on the junket at the invitation of the Philippines Tourism Ministry. In fact, I had nominated another colleague to go on the trip, but she did not have a valid passport so I asked Dey to go instead.

Even after his nomination, Dey insisted that I let a junior colleague go instead. Her passport, therefore, was made under the Tatkal scheme, and she had a valid document ready. By then, however, the Philippines Tourism Department had processed Dey's file and the name could not be transferred. It is nothing but sheer chance that Dey was on that pleasure trip. And it was just thatu00a0-- a pleasure trip with a tight schedule prepared by Philippines Tourism.

Then, there is the big Iqbal Mirchi bogey around Dey's neck. That theory, of course, has been debunked by the Mumbai Police. So what are we left with? Essentially nothing. No motive from the police and no credible theories from an inquisitive media fraternity, both of whom now need to stop the mischief. Let the investigation throw up credible evidence. If that does not happen, Dey would be a victim twice over.

Sachin Kalbag, executive editor