Mumbai Mirror: Mumbai: Saturday, May 11, 2013.
Head honcho of India's largest pesticide company
accuses a guest on his show of 'fraud' and demands an apology from both of them.
The last episode of Aamir Khan's TV show was aired
on July 29, but an issue highlighted in the series continues to simmer. But not in
the way Aamir would have liked.
Rajju Shroff, CMD, United Phosphorus, who had
appeared on Episode 8 of the show, has sent a legal notice to Aamir, Kiran Rao and 17 others, demanding a public apology for representing him in a 'bad light'.
The episode that dealt with the effects of pesticides on the environment and
health of lactating mothers and newborns, pitted Shroff against an army of
researchers, housewives and doctors, who came prepared with data, testimonials
and proof of the damage done.
Shroff's umbrage outlasted the impact of the show
and he filed an RTI to ascertain the veracity of the research conducted by Dr
Rashmi Sanghi, who was part of the show.
Sanghi, a researcher with IIT - Kanpur, had
claimed that she 'was inspired to conduct a research on the effects of
pesticides on breast milk after she became a mother and had a tough time
convincing mothers in Bhopal to give her the samples to work with.' She said
her tests revealed that the incidence of endosulphan in breast milk from women
in Bhopal was 800 per cent more than what was permissible.
A visibly agitated and unprepared Shroff fumbled
as Aamir tore through his weak defence: "All those who claim pesticides
are harmful are liars." The show ended with Shroff struggling to stay calm
as sentiments in the studio were evidently against the man who was the face of
the 'toxic' industry.
"After the show, I started my own research and through RTI, asked Dr Sanghi
to share her research papers," Shroff told Mirror. "Shockingly, she
replied that she had never visited Bhopal or collected the samples herself.
They were provided by an NGO." Sanghi's reply to the query (in possession
of this paper), clearly says that she was merely using the 'available
resources' to test many other samples, including breast milk brought to the lab
from Bhopal.
In a separate reply (in possession with his paper)
IIT, Kanpur says that it is not aware of any tests conducted at the FEAT
(Facility for Ecological and Analytical Testing) labs as claimed by Sanghi.
Armed with the responses, Shroff dashed off an
angry letter to Sanghi, (in possession of this paper) saying she had committed
a 'fraud' and that, had it been any other country, she would have been
'jailed.' He ended with an ultimatum, apologise, or else....
Aamir on his part wrote a stern letter to Shroff
(in possession with this paper), saying the show was a 'platform for open
debate' and expressed dismay at the way he was 'intimidating a fellow
participant' with his 'reckless accusations.' The exchange of letters has now
taken a legal turn, with Shroff's lawyers demanding an apology from Aamir and
his team. Aamir's lawyers replied saying since their clients were travelling,
they would take time to respond.
When we contacted Sanghi in Kanpur, she said:
"The allegation by Shroff is neither right nor wrong... I will only speak
when the matter is cleared by the courts." Later, in an e-mail, she said:
"I stand by what I have said on Satyamev Jayate. I deny the allegations
made against me... they are false and defamatory."
A spokesperson from the show reiterated: "We
stand by what we have shown in our programme, deny the allegations made against
us and are happy to defend ourselves in a court of law. Strong lobbies of
powerful groups will not succeed in bullying us, and we will never hesitate
from showing what is true."
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