Pradeep Shinde talks about gunaah.com and the challenges of crime reporting

Launched jointly by the Maharashtra Speaker Arun Gujarathi and Mumbai police commissioner R S Sharma in January this year, Mumbai-based Gunaah.com attempts to fill the gap in reportage of crime related news.

The basic motivation for launching this crime site, reveals the editor, Pradeep Shinde, came from a need to do some good investigative stories, "the likes of which are sadly lacking in  today's 'third page' newspapers". Shinde has already collected a bank of such stories, which will be released when the time is right.

The name 'Gunaah' came from a series of unusual crime stories that Shinde had written for a proposed TV serial. The stories took the form of a Web site instead. "It took some time to work out Gunaah's content and arrive at an easy-to-navigate format. Since I have always worked with newspapers, the technology was also new and, at times, frustrating," expresses Shinde.

Working with about three freelancers in Mumbai and an in-house team of about seven, Shinde produces a crime portal that has daily (sometimes even hourly) updates. "In addition, we have four  journalists on a retainership in four major metros who contribute everyday. We also had well-known columnists like Ashok Row Kavi, D Ramachandran, A A Khan and Amit Bhowmik. But, we will soon be getting other crime specialists to write for us," says Shinde.

Crime reporting is challenging and there are few specialist newspapers, magazines or even columns in the market. "One reason could be that not many journalists stick on with crime reporting -- they move on to either political arenas or economic scenarios. Nobody wants to be identified as a crime reporter because such a label sticks and along with it comes the stigma of belonging to the seamier side of life," explains Shinde.

There is also the element of danger in crime reporting. Continues Shinde: "You cannot step on too many toes. Unlike the old fashioned criminal who had a certain, though convoluted value system, the present day mafiosi is belligerent, quick to retaliate and totally unscrupulous. Covering crime is a balancing act these days and the balance often tips in favour of closing your eyes and ears to issues and happenings which can't be reported."

Crime reporters are automatically out of reckoning from high profile and rewarding consulate bashes, foreign junkets, political power trips and the art / culture scene. "Many prefer to write and belong to the 'third page' lifestyle," points out Shinde.

In a scenario where in-depth crime news is rare, the site has been receiving good response from community based sites like sikhe.com. Google News has selected Gunaah.com as a source for crime news. Adds Shinde, "We are getting an encouraging response from the crime fighting community and crime buffs. Many of our stories have been used by international lobbies to influence policing on crime."

Some of Gunaah's stories are being discussed on the following community sites like Crime Research, Keep and bear arms, Landings and Online Security. Section-wise, it's the Bollywood Sins and Economic Offences that are popular with readers. The site is also quite popular with broadcast media like Star TV, NDTV and some newspapers. Says Shinde: "Most of them keep requesting crime info on a regular basis."

"Our story on Boeing-Air India nexus (also featured on Landings.com) received a record response. Also, we find there is a lot of interest globally for unusual crimes. An example is our story featured on Anomalist and Wintersteel," shares Shinde.

While there are sites that are maintained by the police to provide crime statistics, Shinde says he would not recommend any of them for actual information. He says: "Government sites will not provide a true picture since they rely on police figures which, in turn, suffer from burking. Local police stations are known to fudge figures -- on oral instructions from superiors -- so that the crime rate does not cause undue alarm."

About the state of cyber crime in India, activities haven't taken off because of lack of expertise, according to Shinde. "Often the cops use civilians; as they did while cracking Harshad Mehta and Ketan Parekh's software secrets. The police simply do not have any idea of what they are up against. Apart from nabbing a hacker or two, nothing significant has been achieved."

Asks Shinde: "Keeping these factors in mind, does it seem surprising to you that there are no crime sites in India? Literally speaking, crime does not pay."

Despite these daunting obstacles, Shinde and his team, continue to report on crime through this significant online endeavour.