Play

In a recent and reckless claim, a segment on the Hindi news channel Zee Rajasthan has asked whether the missing Indian Air Force aircraft has been abducted by aliens.

On June 3, an AN-32 plane of the Indian Air Force went missing over Arunachal Pradesh after taking off from Jorhat in Assam. The plane has been untraceable since, despite multiple search and rescue operations. Thirteen people were on the aircraft.

According to a Zee Rajasthan anchor, in the absence of a plausible explanation for the aircraft’s disappearance, abduction by aliens is the only theory that makes sense. There is also a suggestion that the aliens may be conniving with China.

This is not the first time that a Hindi news channel has resorted to aliens to boost its TRPs. In the past, India TV has done stories investigating whether aliens have a liking for singer-actor Himesh Reshammiya, or for cow’s milk.

A segment on the “news” telecast on another Hindi news channel, ABP News, talked about how Pakistan is responsible for the heat wave that has hit north India in the past few days.

Play

The anchors said that the winds coming from Pakistan’s Sindh area are causing an increase in temperature in north India. But how that translates into an “attack” orchestrated by Pakistan is the question.