Covering internal security issues is like walking on razor’s edge. It is always hard to figure out what information someone is trying to plant and what is important. Sometimes reporters falter, but sometimes due to experience and instincts, they manage to do the right thing.
Here, I recall a news report that I filed for this newspaper in 2016 about three Pakistani terrorists who were said to have been killed in Gujarat . The information about their infiltration into India was shared by Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Nasser Khan Janjua with his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval. This was a couple of months after the attack on the Pathankot airbase by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists, which had led to the killing of seven security personnel. This incident was followed by a rare bonhomie between the two countries when the National Investigation Agency (NIA) was tasked with giving a guided tour to the Pakistani investigators, to collect evidence about the JeM terrorists who were killed at the airbase after a fierce gun battle on January 2.
It was against this backdrop that the information about terrorist infiltration was passed on to Indian agencies. One March evening, a top bureaucrat in the Home Ministry told me and a reporter from a TV news channel that three terrorists had been killed. The cynic in me wondered why the official was sharing such sensitive information with us. When information comes that easily, it is hard to believe. Nevertheless, we decided to do due diligence. The Hindu ’s Gujarat correspondent, Mahesh Langa, spoke to the State Director General of Police (DGP) P.C. Thakur, who termed it a rumour. I checked with multiple officials but no one could confirm anything. Since the information had come from one of the highest offices in North Block, I saw no reason to discard it. We went ahead with the story and included the DGP’s statement as well as the statements of other officials.
Till date, I am yet to get a second confirmation. I don’t know if it was a patently wrong story or a highly successful covert operation. Bodies were never found, nor were witnesses. The police or members of the public, who may have known about the encounter, never came forward. I don’t know what prompted the officer to offer this information, but these are the perils of security reporting. On most occasions, it falls in a grey zone and there is always the cloak of anonymity. Bureaucrats and police officers never come on record. On-record statements help fix accountability, but there is fear of reprisal. An officer can face serious disciplinary proceedings for speaking to the press. Reporters have to manoeuvre their way through the maze of information and disinformation. Reporters write for readers and cannot cheat them. Loyalty to readers aside, the credibility of the byline also suffers if uncorroborated, planted information is published in the reporter’s name. There can be legal repercussions, too.
News-hungry reporters are often tempted to publish uncorroborated “classified” information. Unfortunately, many newsrooms often confuse access with good journalism. Access is required; it’s a must. It is our responsibility and right as reporters to ask questions to those in power. How we apply our mind and process the information given to use is where the catch lies.
I was once told by a security establishment officer that a particular news report on a TV channel, which I was also chasing, was not worth my byline. The officer was candid enough to tell me that agencies had planted the news in that particular channel to set a narrative among the domestic audience against a neighbouring country. But I did not want to miss the story either. After checking with multiple officials, I was convinced that there was little news value to it and I dropped the story.
Since 2014, a new practice has emerged. Government officials send unsigned notes on WhatsApp. Reporters are expected to file news reports attributing the information to “sources.” Whether or not the paper chooses to print the information is an editorial call. All such information should be scrutinised and verified before it is published.
vijaita.singh@thehindu.co.in
