News Broadcasting
Suhaib Ilyasi scores as ‘India TV’s Most Wanted’ helps nab two criminals
MUMBAI: Barely one month after it made a come back on India TV, Suhaib Ilyasi’s India TV’s Most Wanted (earlier India’s Most Wanted) has become instrumental in the arrest of two criminals. The police, who confirmed the arrests of criminals Ram Asre Phakkar and Vijay Fufrana, said the arrests were possible owing to the programme highlighting the criminal activities of these two individuals.
Ram Asre Tiwai alias Phakkar Baba, along with his mistress Kusuma Nain and seven more allies surrendered on 8 June, 2004. Ram Asre was a dacoit operating in the Chambal Valleys and was responsible for various cases of murder, robbery and abduction in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. There are 135 cases of robbery registered against him and an award of Rs 1,50,000 was offered in return for the information on him. As quoted in an official communiqué, Sikandra DSP O P Singh said that featuring Ram Asre’s crimes on India TV’s Most Wanted played a vital role in his surrender.
The second criminal to be arrested, Vijay Fufrana was responsible for a triple murder at Fafrana village. Following this incident, an award of RS 20,000 was placed on him. Vijay was involved in various murder and robbery cases, and his gang of dozen members was also involved in the looting of heavy vehicles. Fufrana was arrested recently.
Dehat (Ghaziabad)’s SP Virendra Kumar Shekhar, during an interview on India TV’s Most Wanted stated that Fufrana’s arrest would not have been possible without the assistance and support of India TV’s Most Wanted team, says the release.
Commenting on the arrests, Suhaib Ilyasi said, “In the past, our show has enabled the police to capture more than 50 criminals. Once a criminal is featured on the show, it becomes difficult for him or her to hide any more. Either they surrender themselves or fall prey to encounters. It is indeed commendable that despite a gap of a few years, the Most Wanted team in its new avatar of India TV’s Most Wanted is as successful as ever in its mission”.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
