Scroll.in’s Mridula Chari wins Ramnath Goenka award for on-the-spot reporting
She won it for a story on the police forcing a man to sign a false report saying Muslims celebrated Pakistan’s win over India in the ICC Champions Trophy final.
Scroll.in’s Mridula Chari has been named one of the winners of the Ramnath Goenka awards for 2017 in the “on-the-spot reporting” category. She was among several other journalists who were presented their awards at an event in New Delhi on Friday.
Chari won the award for a story on the Madhya Pradesh Police having forced a man to sign a false report saying Muslims celebrated Pakistan’s win over India in the ICC Champions Trophy final in London. The police had arrested 15 Muslim men, aged between 17 and 40, from the state’s Burhanpur district for bursting firecrackers after India lost the prestigious tournament in June 2017. The police report had charged them with sedition for allegedly raising slogans and bursting firecrackers after the match.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh presented the awards on Friday. According to the organisers, the awards “aim to celebrate excellence in journalism, recognise courage and commitment and showcase outstanding contributions and individuals every year”.
Chari has also won the Shriram Sanlam Award for Excellence in Financial Journalism for 2015. She was lauded in the category of reporting on economic policy for her story on the new capital being built by Andhra Pradesh.