Scoop true story: The shocking real-life case behind Netflix series
The drama is based on a memoir written by a prominent Indian crime journalist.
Hindi-language series Scoop, which is available to stream now on Netflix, tells the story of Jagruti Pathak, a crime journalist who is accused of murdering a fellow reporter.
But the 10-part series, which explores the links between the media, the Mumbai underworld and the authorities, isn't strictly a work of fiction. While dramatic license has been taken, the drama is based on a shocking true story.
Read on for everything you need to know about the real-life inspiration behind Scoop.
Scoop true story
In 2012, Indian crime journalist Jigna Vora was arrested for conspiring to murder Jyotirmoy Dey, a well known face in the Mumbai crime reporting scene. The 56-year-old, also known as J Dey, was on his way home when four men on motorcycles shot him dead.
He had written for The Indian Express and Hindustan Times before becoming the investigations editor at the Mid Day newspaper. Before his death, he was covering the blackmarket oil trade, also referred to as the "oil mafia".
37-year-old Vora, who was the deputy bureau chief of the English-language daily Asian Age at the time, was also accused of destroying evidence.
Seven years after Vora's arrest, some of which was spent behind bars, she was acquitted of all charges along with another suspect.
Gang leader Chhota Rajan, who headed up one of the city's crime syndicates, was given a life sentence for orchestrating Dey's murder.
Rajan had previously been on the run for three decades, fleeing India to live in Australia, Thailand and Indonesia under a false passport.
Following Dey's murder, journalists in the city held protests to voice their fears about the lack of protection for reporters.
Mr Dey's death "underlines the increasing threat investigative journalists are being subjected to by powerful political and business interests indulging in illegal acts", said the Mumbai Press Club (via BBC News).
"Scores of incidents of journalists being beaten or threatened by politicians and local mafia have been brought to the fore in recent weeks and months."
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Vora went on to write a memoir, Behind Bars in Byculla: My Days in Prison, which recounts her time in prison as well as court hearings and her experience as a journalist.
Speaking about how the series builds on the book, which is "primarily based in the prison", director Hansal Mehta told Variety: "I found the world that led her to prison very fascinating. It became this larger drama about a middle-class girl in Mumbai with the middle-class aspirations of being the best crime reporter, having pieces on page one.
"She blindly chases those ambitions not realising that in the bargain, the reporter becomes the reported, so that fascinated me."
Scoop is available to stream now on Netflix – sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. The streamer is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Abby Robinson is the Drama Editor for Radio Times, covering TV drama and comedy titles. She previously worked at Digital Spy as a TV writer, and as a content writer at Mumsnet. She possesses a postgraduate diploma and a degree in English Studies.
