MUMBAI: Following the Indian defeat at the World Cup final, Aaj Tak has announced that it will be returning all the cheques collected from viewers for their Jeeto India Jackpot campaign, wherein money was pooled in to be given to the Indian team if they brought the Cup home.

Utmost care is being taken to ensure that all the cheques reach the contributors safely. The process has already been initiated, and the viewers will receive their cheques within a fortnight, states an official release.

The unique on-air campaign was started by Aaj Tak on 5 March to create a bridge between its viewers and the cricket team in South Africa, and to demonstrate the massive support that the Indian cricket team enjoyed within the country.

“Our heart beats for India. We were looking forward to our team’s victory in the finals and had pledged one crore towards the fund. Our boys did well, but Sunday was just not their day. Our viewers demonstrated their support for the Indian cricket team. We all wanted this money to go to the team, but sadly, we will have to return the same to the viewers,” Aaj Tak CEO G Krishnan is quoted as saying in the release.

People from all over the country and from walks of life had contributed towards this fund. The contributors’ lists included names like Pramod Mahajan, Sahib Singh Verma, Raj Kumar Dhoot, amongst others, the release adds.