SHYAM, DAAM, DAND, BHED...

Folks, for a change, the CCOC (Chicken Chilly Officer's Choice) network's working overtime these days.
No... not at journalism, but at blocking a certain story from being published in newspapers.
Some days back Tarun Bharat broke a story alleging that Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education's procedures were flouted to ensure that the son of Shyam Zambaulikar -- who's the influential Margao correspondent of The Navhind Times -- cleared his 11th standard examination.
The story also claims that in an unprecedented move the Board appointed an external examiner to correct the particular student's papers in the 11th standard exam. One of the more serious discrepancies reported by the newspaper was that the correspondence in this regard was penned by the chairman of the Goa Board L M T Fernandes, instead of the secretary who is the designated authority. LMT Fernanedes is alleged to be a close chum of Shyam Zambaulikar.
This is the crux of the story that Tarun Bharat broke.
But was there a follow up done by any newspaper?
Nope.
Shyam has been networking with his journo friends and senior newspaper bigwigs asking them to block the story. He's also managed to get his few MLA and ministers from South Goa to make these calls too.

And he has been successful. He is now encashing on the trove of favours he has bestowed on some editors and senior journos in the past... Shyam is in a way the Raja Harishchandra of South Goa, but with a bit of a difference. Raja Harishchandra could have carved out a piece of flesh from his own body, had you asked him for it. Shyam, on the other hand, will will 'arrange' it for you. Oh he is good at that... He even helped pull some strings to get an editor off the hook, when the latter was facing severe criminal charges.
We had profiled Shyam some time back, you guys can check up this link for it.
For years now Shyam, Minoo Fernandes (ex Herald, now with The Navhind Times) and Sushant Concolienkar (Tarun Bharat) have held journalism in Margao to a ransom. There was a time when a particular teacher-cum journo would walk into a police station, fib shamelessly to Police Inspector Umesh Gaonkar that he's lost his purse and claimed he wanted some money. And Umesh used to indulge freely. This used to happen unerringly
each month. Umesh didnt mind, cause it wasnt his salary he was dishing out anyway.
We are attaching scanned images of the Tarun Bharat story... Do look it up.

You could also call up these numbers to question the newspaper/correspondent and register your protest or to hear the other side of the story, if you wish to:

Arun Sinha -- Editor, The Navhind Times -- 0832-6651120 and 0832-6651123 (direct line)

The Navhind Times news desk -- 0832-6651119

Shyam Zambaulikar -- 09890246907

The Navhind Times (Margao bureau) -- 0832-2700997