Stings for SALE!

I WAS shocked to learn that sting operations are bought for a price. Various sources in the media informed me that there are private agencies, which sell these stings to media groups, specifically to television channels to shoot their TRP rate at regular intervals.

I have also learnt that stings are available on various issues ranging from Bollywood to corruption, politics and administration. One just has to order when the time is right or when the TRPs are going down.

For example: The recent cash-for-vote shame during the trust vote in Parliament. It is learnt that the private agency (generally detective group) shot it and approached various television channels for a fixed sum. The tapes were bought by CNN IBN.

Though I have my doubts over the expose and its timing, it was a shame on the part of such a reputed channel to air the story without even checking the authenticity of the source.

This is one thing I strongly object of sting operations. One shouldn’t make a trap to catch the culprit red-handed. Would you resist, when someone offers an ice-cream on a humid day?

I would like to give my own example when I did a sting operation to expose computer scam. The operation was to find fraud computer engineers who charged exorbitant price in respect to the problem.

The problem: We loosened the plug, which connected the processor of the CPU. We were largely successful in our operation because we managed to find quite a few frauds. Only to connect the plug we were charged between Rs 250 to 450.

During the operation, many a time, a senior colleague and I could have made the same mistake — of making a false trap to catch frauds.

But we made a quick check and adhered to the most important ethics of sting.

A sting operation should be full proof. Sadly, till date there isn’t one in this regard. Why do they always look stage-managed?

Why do sting operations fade soon after making a huge flutter in the nation? Why isn’t the sting an enough evidence to take action against the guilty?

Is anyone listening!