The circular issued by the then IPRD deputy director, Shivkapoor Sinha stated that the minister was angry with the recent trend of the newspapers as it has been found that the government’s press-releases were not being “properly covered”. However, the then IPRD principal secretary, Rajesh Bhushan immediately contradicted the said IPRD letter and also announced action against Shivkapoor Sinha (now retired) for issuing such a letter. The circular signed by the then IPRD director, Shivkapoor Sinha is being annexed with this report.

The said letter reached to the Fact Finding Team and was also carried in a section of paper and it generated much heat in the backdrop of the team’s visit to Bihar. The Fact Finding Team is of the opinion such a circular could not be considered to be an isolated action of a director rank IPRD official. The concerned circular is attached herewith.

Akhilesh, the Editor of Dainik Tarun Mitra, said in his complaint submitted to the committee that he was being victimised only due to publication of irregularity in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, advertisement scam, printing scam and kerosine oil scam in his newspaper. False cases were framed against him, handcuffed and sent to jail. One by one, five cases were registered against him.

A web portal Bihar Times made a written complaint before this fact finding committee, in which it said that they were not being given advertisements by the State Government because they dared to resort to free and fare journalism. IIM Ahmedabad had prepared a case study on their portal. Despite their integrity and reliability, the government did not release any advertisement to their portal. However, the other portals were being regularly supplied with government's advertisement.

THE SUBMISSIONS

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD): The president of RJD, the main opposition party in the state, Ramchandra Purve, appeared before the committee along with Ram Kripal Yadav (MP), former legislative council member Ajad Gandhi, former MP Alok Kumar and others, and made written complaint against the ruling establishment alleging that they put pressures on media for compelling them not to publish news that may expose failure of the government. They alleged that managements of newspapers even avoid publishing news and articles that may dent the image of the government or improve the opposition's image. Only two years before in 2011, Patna High Court had made adverse comments on officials of the Department of Building Constructions. A reporter dared to publish this as news in his newspaper, and the government got this reporter transferred as punishment to Delhi. It resulted into a situation in which other reporters of various newspapers too started avoiding reporting news against the government generated from various courts in the state. Government is indirectly regulating publication of court news against them. RJD leaders alleged that the news of seizure of unaccounted amount of money to the tune of Rs 4.5 crore, dumped in a flour sack in the house of Arun Kumar Sinha, the treasurer of the ruling party, was avoided to be prominently published in newspapers only because the accused was a close confidant of the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had been conducting all his political activities prior to becoming chief minister of the state. The news related to the well known AC-DC scam, BIARDA scam, land scam, flood relief scam, diesel subsidy scam, seeds scam, liquor scam, transport scam, medicine and medical instruments scam, constables' appointment scam, bicycle and dress scam, and teachers' appointment scam, etc are either not published or published in brief on inside pages. They were underplayed or suppressed. RJD alleged that newspapers of the state are condemned to write headings of the news related to the opposition in a manner that
helps the ruling establishment. The newspapers have lost their privilege to write even headings. Newspapers, under compulsion coupled with their own greed, most of the time tries to ignore news related to the opposition, they alleged.