"We have completely lost faith in the media, especially television channels, as they have ruined our lives," Khurana's mother Vidya Gandhi told.
NEW DELHI: Uma Khurana, a government schoolteacher falsely framed in a contrived sting operation of a television news channel, was Monday granted bail even as her family said TV channels had ruined their lives and they had lost their faith in the media.
"We have completely lost faith in the media, especially television channels, as they have ruined our lives. Now we don't trust any of their reports. Our reputation has been tarnished," Khurana's mother Vidya Gandhi told.
"We knew that she was innocent and was wrongly framed by the television channel. We pray to god that it should never happen to any innocent again," said Gandhi expressing satisfaction over grant of bail to her daughter.
Gandhi, who along with her second daughter was waiting at a local court for Khurana's release, burst into sobs and said a woman who had personal enmity with her daughter had framed her in collusion with the television reporter.
"The woman had framed my daughter because she (Khurana) had complained to the state education department and the state government about her making illegal money.
"Police have been supporting us since the beginning and now we plead them to investigate the whole conspiracy," Gandhi added.
The purported sting operation aired by Live India, a private TV news channel, claimed to show Khurana, who teaches mathematics at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalala at the Asaf Ali Road in central Delhi, forcing many of her girl students into prostitution and pornography.
Following the telecast a crowd attacked the school and manhandled the teacher, who was dismissed by the state government Sep 1. She was arrested the next day on charges of immoral trafficking.
A week later, it was discovered that the operation was a hoax as a woman, depicted as a victim, was in fact not a student but an aspiring journalist.
Prakash Singh, the journalist behind the fake sting operation, was arrested last week and booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those related to cheating and criminal conspiracy.
Khurana, 41, burst into tears after the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's court in the Tis Hazari complex granted her bail as there was no evidence against her.
"So far the investigation has revealed that she was a victim of a fake sting operation conducted by the private TV news channel," Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Alok Aggarwal said while granting her bail.
Khurana's lawyer Vivek Sharma said: "We argued in the court that she was arrested only on the basis of a sting operation and even the prosecution has admitted that the sting operation was doctored."
Sharma said, "At present Khurana has been sent to Tihar Jail. We are working on the bail formalities and she will be out by the evening."
The court also rebuked police and asked about the action taken against the channel, which had aired the fake expose.
Appearing for Delhi Police, lawyer Pradeep Bhatia said police were currently investigating the case and sought Prakash's custody for further investigations.
Prakash will be produced in the court on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court directed Delhi Police's Crime Branch to furnish the evidence collected against Khurana.
A high court bench headed by Chief Justice M.K. Sarma also asked the Delhi government to consider reviewing its decision to sack Khurana by reinstating her in the light of evidence collected so far by the police.
"We would like to see the case diary on Wednesday to look into the evidence collected against her," the bench said asking the police counsel to produce all the documents relating to the case.
Counsel Mukta Gupta appearing for police submitted that the investigation into the case was still on and it could not be concluded that the schoolteacher was completely innocent.
"The evidence showed her involvement in certain parts of the sting operation aired on a private TV channel," said Gupta.
On Sep 7, the high court had issued notices to the government and police after taking notice of media reports that the sting operation was fake and distorted.
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