CBI raids — Doordarshan reshuffles its staff to save face

NEW DELHI, DEC 9: Stung by the raids conducted by the CBI on senior officials' houses last month, public broadcaster Doordarshan, in a bel...

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NEW DELHI, DEC 9: Stung by the raids conducted by the CBI on senior officials’ houses last month, public broadcaster Doordarshan, in a belated attempt to clean its stables, has reshuffled the portfolios of senior officials.

The first to lose control over the coveted Sports Channel was Deputy Director General K. Kunhikrishnan, who will now be responsible for the Sales and Commercial wing and the Commissioning Unit of Doordarshan. His role in DD’s sports telecast rights for various sporting events is currently being investigated by the CBI.

Omita Paul, who was till recently in charge of the DD International channel, has been given the responsibility of the Sports Channel as well. It is the Information Service Officer’s appointment as Additional Director General that has led to a lot of sniggering in Mandi House circles. She happens to be the wife of K.K. Paul, currently the Joint Commissioner of Police, who is credited with taking the lid off match-fixing cases that have rocked the country. Though senior officials added that her posting at the Sports Channel was temporary, the timing of the appointment has not gone unnoticed.

Others who lost their turf in the clean-up operations were T.R. Malaakar, who was in charge of Doordarshan’s national channel as well as the Commissioning Officer-in-charge of the Eastern region. Malakaar has been stripped off his Eastern portfolio — soon after the Standing Committee of Communications raised objections about the administration of the channel — and he will now be looking after the affairs of the main channel.