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 16th
August, 2005: The most disgusting part of being a media
editor is that one has to do the garbage guy's job of
scrounging through the muck. Whether you like or not, you have to go
through the newspapers and magazines and sift the wheat from
the chaff. Most of it is chaff. In my earlier job as a
business news editor, I did not have to do any of this. I
fondly recall those days.
Last Saturday saw one of the most gruesome murders ever
happened in Mumbai, when a Manipuri girl and her friend were
stabbed at the Gateway of India. The attacker slit one woman's
throat, and stabbed the other, before being caught by the
cops. My shock at seeing the news in print was matched only by
the shock of seeing how the media mis-reported it. My job
profile requires that I read at least five papers a day, which
means I have to go through at least five piles of muck. Read
on:
| Name of attacker: |
| Umer Patel, Uzer Patel (Times)
|
| Junaid Patel, Ujair Patel (HT) |
| Junaid Patel (Newsline) |
| Ujjaid Shah Patel (DNA) |
|
Age of attacker: |
22, 28 (HT) |
| 25 (Newsline) |
| 27 (Mumbai
Mirror) |
| 27 (DNA) |
| Name of murdered
woman |
Leishi Choan Shaizi (Mirror) |
| Leish Choan, Leishachoan
(Times) |
| Lei Shichon, Qui, Leishichon
Lenchen Shaiza (HT) |
| Leisha Choan (Newsline) |
| Nisa Choan, Chouthi Shaiza
(DNA) |
|
Age of murdered woman |
23 (Mirror) |
| 23 (Times) |
| 18, 23 (HT) |
| 20 (Newsline) |
| 23 (DNA) |
| Name of woman who
survived |
Ngakuimi Rateng (Mirror) |
| Ngakuim Raony, Ngakuimi Raleng
(Times) |
| Ngal, Ngauni Raleng, Ngakuimi
Raleng (HT) |
| Nagakuimi Ralang (DNA) |
| Nga Kuimi Raleng, Ngakuimi
Ralang (Newsline) |
|
Age of woman who survived |
23 (Mirror) |
| 20 (Times) |
| 20 (HT) |
| 23 (Newsline) |
| 20 (DNA) |
| Was the killer mad? |
Yes, No: Mirror |
| No, Yes: Times |
| Probably mad: Others |
|
Did he kill his father? |
Yes: HT, DNA |
| No: Mirror |
| No mention:
Others |
| Time of attack |
5.45 (Times) |
| 5.30 (HT) |
| 5.40 (Newsline) |
| 6.15 (DNA) |
Mumbai Mirror pronounced the attacker mad on Day One. In
the Page 2 story headlined "Terror at Gateway" the assailant
is termed a "deranged man". The woman who died of stab wounds
is Leishi Choan Shaizi, while her friend is Ngakuimi Rateng.
Both are aged 23, says Mumbai Mirror. The attacker, they say,
refused to divulge his name.
Looks like he divulged his name to Mirror parent Times of
India. The Times front page story titled "Gore at Gateway"
names the villain as Umer Patel. Unlike Mirror, Times did not
pronounce him mad. "A seemingly mentally disturbed man," is
how TOI terms him. Umer Patel came from Gulshan Nagar near
Jogeshwari, informs Times. He stabbed his father 12 times in
the morning, according to Times. The attack happened at 5.45
PM. The dead woman is Leish Choan (23) and her wounded friend
is Ngakuim Raony (20). Times has reduced 3 years from the second
woman's age given by Mumbai Mirror as 23.
According to Hindustan Times, the villain is Junaid Patel,
aged 22. In the front page lead story titled Gore at Gateway
(same headline as in Times), HT identifies the woman who died
as Lei Shichon (18) and her friend as Ngal (20). Notice the
difference in age. The dead woman is also named Qui (??) twice
in the story as well as in the graphic with the story.
According to HT, the attack took place at 5.30 PM. Moreover,
HT goes where no one has gone before - it says Patel "had just
killed his father." (In the next day's Mumbai Mirror, the
"dead" father speaks to a journalist.
The confusion over the victims' names continues. According to
Mumbai Newsline, the Express pullout for Mumbai, the girls are
Nga Kuimi Raleng (23) and Leisha Choan (20). Also, the age
given is totally different from those given by Mumbai Mirror,
Times and HT. According to Newsline, the attack took place at
5.40 PM. The attacker is Junaid Patel (age 25). Name is the
same as in HT; only, he is three years older in Newsline.
DNA, which has made me speak up and pen this report, calls it
"Ghastly murder at Gateway of India". Here, the villain is
Ujjaid Shah Patel. The victims' names are new too - they are
Nisa Choan (23) and Nagakuimi Ralang (20). Different ages here
too. Attack was at 6.15 PM, different from Mumbai Mirror,
Times, Newline and HT. Besides, the villain comes from
Oshiwara, not Jogeshwari as we thought before. His father is
Issack Patel, who DNA claims, "succumbed to injuries." Really?
Was it the father's ghost in the next day's Mumbai Mirror?
I am already disheartened by the gory news. The Mumbai
newspapers have made it worse.
Monday morning, and Mumbai Mirror wakes me up with the news
that "Gateway killer not mad". I am taken by surprise. Did he
undergo some super psychiatric therapy at the Mumbai Mirror
office the previous night, so that the man they termed
"deranged" the previous day came to his senses? I can't
believe this. Hardly a week back, Mumbai Mirror had carried a
sting operation to "expose" Thane mental asylum superintendent
Dr AR Nakalgaonkar. In true tabloid fashion, Mirror had
claimed that the asylum chief was pronouncing normal people
mad, with a little money under the table. Mumbai Mirror must
have received inspiration from the doctor, pronouncing the
attacker mad one day and sane the next.
 And yes,
they have now got his name too. It is Uzer Patel, and age is
27, according to Mirror. He stabbed his father (name changes
to Ishaque Patel now) 21 times. That is a cool 9 stabs more
than what its parent Times reported. Still, Mirror says he is
NOT mad.
Move on to HT, which says that "Grief, fear follow Gateway
killing". From Lei Shichon (18) and Qui the previous day, the
name changes now to Leishichon Lenchen Shaiza and she is older
by five years.(23 now). Her friend named Ngal (aged 20) the
previous day now becomes Ngauni Raleng. She is also called
Ngakuimi Raleng in another story. Elsewhere, an HT report says
that police officer Naval Bajaj interrogated the criminal "on
Friday morning". As far as we all know, the stabbing happened
on Saturday evening. Did the cop interrogate the criminal
before the crime? If so, why did the cop not make a preventive
arrest? Jus' kidding!
Spreading its lantern light further, HT now calls the villain
Ujair Patel, aged 28. From Junaid Patel, aged 22, HT has added
six years to his life in a single day. HT, we need more light
for Mumbai!
Times is not far behind. From Umer Patel, his name changes to
Uzer Patel. After safely terming him "A seemingly mentally
disturbed man" the previous day, Times now calls him "a
mentally unsound youth". This is the opposite of the Mumbai
Mirror version. A (Mumbai) mirror image, sort of. Besides, the
name changes from Leish Choan to Leishachoan. Ngakuim Raony of
the prevous day becomes Ngakuimi Raleng. Another Times story
quotes a police officer as saying: "He is now saying that he
has a mental problem and had killed the two girls because of
depression". Okay. So two girls were killed, not one. Thanks
for the information, Times!
 According
to Newsline, the victim was Nga Kuimi Raleng on the first day
and Ngakuimi Ralang the second day. Father is Isad, says
Newline. DNA told us it was Issack Patel.
On day two, DNA changed the victim's name to Chouthi Shaiza
from the previous day's Nisa Choan. According to DNA, the
villain's age is 27.
Interestingly, a line in the DNA report on the church mourning
service reads: "They are the friends of Nagakuimi Ralang, who
has slipped into a coma after an assault..." The photo above
the story shows the woman in question walking. I didn't know
that people in coma could walk.
I am thoroughly confused by now. What are the newspapers
telling me? What are the names of victims? What is their age?
What time did the attack happen? What is the villain's name?
How old is he? Is he mad or not? Did he kill his father or
not? Was he stabbed 12 times or 21 times? Can people change
their name and age overnight? Can people in coma walk and can
cops grill criminals before the crime?
Or am I going completely mad? Can I get myself admitted to the
Thane asylum to save myself from the Mumbai newspapers?
I am willing to pay a bribe if required!
BY OUR MEDIA EDITOR |
