There is a new money plant flowering at the feet of media men and media houses, and it’s called a power plant.
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Exhibit A: Mail Today, Friday, June 10:
Trivandrum: The chief operating officer of a Malayalam cable TV channel provider, who tried to bribe a senior IAS officer, is cooling his heels behind bars.
Sankara Narayanan (42), of Asianet satellite communications, made an abortive attempt to offer cash to the State power secretary Subbayya on Wednesday night to renew the firm’s permit to use the Kerala state electricity board’s lamp post for the television cables.
Narayanan dropped in at Subbayya’s residence and presented him with sweets, a costly mobile phone and Rs 1 lakh in cash. Realising Narayanan’s intentions, Subbayya locked the front door and called the police.
Exhibit B: Bangalore Mirror, Friday, June 3:
Bangalore: In a dramatic operation, Karnataka power minister Shobha Karandlaje has had two ‘power brokers’ caught by Cubbon Park police while trying to take a Rs 1.7 crore bribe in her name.
The duo had approached the company which was trying to get their Rs 17 crore in dues cleared by the ministry headed by Shobha, with an offer to clear the dues for a 10 per cent cut.
After the firm agreed to the deal, duo made the request to the minister through some journalists, the police said. Investigations have also revealed the role of three journalists, one from a national English daily and two others from a Kannada television channel, who had made the request to Shobha.
IJR 