Doordarshan has entered into an alliance with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) to produce a 13-part serial on police martyrs. If all goes according to plan, the collaboration between the public service broadcaster and an intelligence agency will be a first in the country.
The agency sent a note to the Director-General, Doordarshan, a few months ago, listing five incidents chosen for the 13 episodes — the Mumbai siege in 2008; the Parliament House attack on December 13, 2001; the attack on the Akshardham Temple in Gujarat and the attack on the Raghunath temple in Jammu in 2002; and the killing of 10 CRPF personnel by the Chinese Army in Ladakh on October 21, 1956.
The note said the agency had started the process of collecting materials for the above incidents. While Doordarshan officials are not fully in agreement with the selection, the broadcaster will go by the list.
A senior Doordarshan official was less than forthright in her response to a question on the collaboration. “No MoU has been signed between the IB and the DD. It is at a very preliminary stage,” she said.
If DD officials struck a cautious note, the IB, judging by the tenor of its note, appeared to be just waiting for the nod from the broadcaster to disburse the money for the production from its budget.
