Fake sting operation victim withdraws defamation case against Live India

Fake sting operation victim withdraws defamation case against Live India

 Live India

MUMBAI : Uma Khurana, victim of a fake sting operation, has withdrwan her defamation complaint against Hindi news channel Live India and its CEO Sudhir Chaudhary after settling the matter with them.

In an application before a court in Delhi, Khurana said that she has settled the issue "amicably" with regard to the sting operation with Live India TV Channel and its CEO Sudhir Chaudhary and did not want to pursue the matter.

Khurana, a teacher in Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, had filed in November last year a complaint through her counsel Amit Kumar, alleging that the TV Channel's reporter had conducted a fake sting operation, which was approved for telecast by Chaudhary, that damaged her reputation.

"Since the matter has been settled/compromised between me and Live India TV Channel and Chaudhary, I do not want to proceed this case against other accused TV reporter Prakash Singh also. I am withdrawing this complaint against all accused," she submitted in a statement before the court.

Taking her application into consideration, Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjay Jindal said: "I am of the view that the matter has been settled."

Khurana had not only been manhandled by the protesting mob following the telecast of the fake sting operation on 30 August last year, but was also terminated from her service by the Delhi Government.

The court, however, had let off her in the criminal case, after the police chargesheet said that there was no "incriminating" evidence against her.

The police, however, had claimed that there was sufficient evidence to nail the three accused -- Prakash Singh, Rashmi Singh and Virender Arora -- in the criminal case under Section 120 (criminal conspiracy), 193 (punishment for false evidence) and 196 (using false evidence) and 471 (using forged document as genuine) of the IPC.

According to the chargesheet, Arora was having a monetary dispute with Khurana, who had refused to part with the money.

Arora allegedly hatched a conspiracy with Prakash to implicate the school teacher by carrying out a sting operation.

On 30 August, the TV sting triggered a violent outrage amongst the local public outside Khurana's school near Daryaganj in Delhi.

However, Delhi Government had later reinstated Khurana after she was discharged by the court.