The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has ordered Assamese channel DY365 to go off air for three days. The ministry has served the show cause notice to the channel for violating the cable television network rules.
DY365 had aired a news report on a ritual, wherein a man was seen tossing a newborn up and down in the air without a ‘shred of care and concern’. The video was aired last year in June to expose a superstition prevalent in some parts of Assam. It is believed that the practice of tossing a child up and down in the air would keep it safe.
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But the channel had claimed that by airing the informational video, it had tried to ‘educate the masses against such evil practices’.
“The Central Government…orders to prohibit the transmission or re-transmission of the…channel for three days on any platform throughout India with effect from 0001 hrs on 15.12.2017 till 0001 hrs on 18.12.2017,” the order of the ministry read.
Earlier in 2016 Assamese channel Pratidin Time was also asked to go off air for multiple programmimg code violation. Pratidin Time was accused of revealing the identity of a minor victim. The channel showed images of mutilated bodies and made derogatory comments about women in shows.
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Pratidin Time was asked to go off air for showing very graphic images of the tortured minor. The ministry also said that the channel has time and again being showing images of the bodies of the dead victims. It has also not complied with earlier ministry orders when they asked the channel to apologize for airing a show which appeared to be derogatory to women.
In another instance Pratidin Time and DY365 were asked to go off air on July 30, 2014 in another case. Then in the year 2015, Pratidin Time was slammed on social media for airing a clip in their youtube channel criticizing ‘scantily clad women’ calling them a summer time nuisance that went against Assamese culture. The uproar that followed this incident forced the channel to pull down its video. But petitions have been filed against the channel to report responsibly.
DY365 is promoted by Brahmaputra Tele-Productions Pvt Ltd with its headquarter’s in Guwahati. DY365 editor-in-chief Manoj Goswami could not be reached for comment.