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Newspaper run by Indian
Canadian bags journalism award
By Girish Bhaskar
Vancouver,
Nov 11 (IANS) The South Asian Post, a newspaper published
by an Indian Canadian, has been awarded the Jack Webster Award
for best community reporting for a story that led to the release
of a man who was wrongly jailed on charges of rape.
The
22nd annual Jack Webster Awards, recognizing the best in journalism
in the province of British Columbia, were presented here Thursday.
"This
is a momentous day," said South Asian Post publisher
Harbinder Singh Sewak. "Not only for our newspaper, but
for the entire South Asian community."
"This
is a proud day for the community. Heartfelt congratulations,"
said Indian Consul General in Vancouver Ashok Das.
The
newspaper, launched in 2007, won the award for "The Innocent
Man" - the story of Sukhwinder Singh, an Indian rickshaw
driver who was wrongly imprisoned for rape for nearly four
years.
Singh's
wife Jassi Kaur of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, was murdered
in Punjab in the spring of 2000. She was allegedly killed
at the behest of her family who disapproved of her marriage
to the lowly rickshaw driver.
The
South Asian Post followed the case and created a website (www.justiceforjassi.com)
to provide a forum for people to express their anguish and
indignation over the death of Jassi and the subsequent persecution
of her husband, who was falsely accused of raping a girl.
Sewak
also hired lawyers to dig into the case. After the South Asian
Post raised questions about the relationship between the alleged
rape victim's father and one of Jassi's uncles, the woman
whose testimony sent Singh to prison was recanted in an affidavit
filed in an Indian court. In May, Singh was freed from jail.
Indo-Asian
News Service
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