Mathew Samuel

Mathew Samuel is the Managing Editor of Tehelka. He is one of the founding members of the magazine and is known to be the journalist behind Tehelka's biggest investigation till date, Operation Westend. Mathew joined Tehelka as the Managing Editor in 2014. He is also a Founding Member of Tehelka. In his first stint in Tehelka as a special correspondent, he carried out the sting operation “Operation West End”, which led to the resignation of four senior ministers of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and nearly brought down the BJP-led government at the Centre in 2001.

The “Operation West End” sting operation was his brainchild. The sting operation lasted for about eight months and revealed the involvement of public figures in corruption. Mathew met with about 60 people, including arms dealers, and exposed corruption at high levels of power. The public figures involved were George Fernandes (Defense Minister), Bangaru Laxman (BJP president), Jaya Jaitley (president of the Samatha Party), RK Jain (treasurer of Samatha Party), RK Sharma (treasurer of RSS), General Manjith Singh Aluvalia, Major General PSK Chowdhary, General RK Murge, General Satnam Singh, Brigadier Iqbal Singh, Colonel Anil Saigal, HC Panth, P Sasi, and Surender Kumar Surekha. There were 105 videotapes, out of which Mathew alone shot 99 tapes; the rest were shot with his colleague Aniruddha Bahal.

He has also worked in Delhi for the publications India Today, Mangalam, Mid Day and for television channels NewsX, Live India and India TV. He is based in New Delhi.

Career

Early life

Mathew Samuel was born into a traditional Christian family in Pathanapuram, Kerala. He attended St. Stephens College Pathanapuram, was active in politics, and was the college union secretary.

He worked in Delhi for Mangalam newspaper and Midday for a short period. He later joined Tehelka as a staff reporter.[1]

Operation West End

The Operation West End sting was the brainchild of Mathew Samuel. He got the beginning of the story on a train journey in which one of his co-passengers turned out to be a supplier for Defense Canteens. The sting operation lasted for about eight months and revealed involvement of public figures in corruption. Samuel met with approximately 60 people, including arms dealers, and exposed corruption at high levels of power.[2][3][4]

The public figures involved were George Fernandes (Defense Minister),[5] Bangaru Laxman (BJP president), Jaya Jaitley (president of the Samatha Party), R. K. Jain (treasurer of Samatha Party),[6] R K Sharma (treasurer of RSS), General Manjith Singh Aluvalia,[7] Major General P. S. K. Chowdhary,[8] General R. K. Murge, General Satnam Singh,[9] Brigadier Iqbal Singh,[9] Colonel Anil Saigal, H. C. Panth, P. Sasi, and Surender Kumar Surekha.

There were 105 videotapes.[10] Samuel alone shot 99 tapes; the rest were shot with his colleague.[3]

Aftermath

The day after Operation West End tapes were made public, Samuel's landlord threw him out of his house. His wife Annie, who was working in a private firm, had to resign her job because of the harassment of CBI and IB officials in her office in the name of enquiry. Officers from IB even went to his village in Kerala and questioned his father.[2]

References

  1. ↑ "Tehelka Sting Operator Comes Clean!". The Christian Messenger News Desk.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "After Eleven Years, It Stings To Say This...". Out Look.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Trehan, Madhu (2009). Tehelka as metaphor : prism me a lie, tell me a truth. New Delhi: Roli Books. ISBN 9788174365804.
  4. ↑ Tully, Sir Mark (2003). India In Slow Motion. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780670885589.
  5. ↑ KAUR, NAUNIDHI. "Fernandes under fire".
  6. ↑ "R K Jain arrested five years after Tehelka expose". Outlook.
  7. ↑ "The Sting That Has India Writhing". The New York Times.
  8. ↑ "Major General shown the door in Tehelka case". The Times of India.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Tehelka case: Army finds 3 officers guilty". Times of India.
  10. ↑ "Of WikiLeaks, Tehelka And Righteous Media". Youth Ki Awaz.

External links