Aakarshan Uppal is a freelance journalist who runs the Hindi YouTube channel titled IBN24 and is the Director & Editor of IBN24 News Network, Karnal, Haryana.
Wiki/Biography
Aakarshan completed his schooling at Delhi Public School in 2001 and graduated in Arts from IASE University, Churu District, Sardarshahr, Rajasthan in 2008.
Physical Appearance
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Aakarshan Uppal reporting for IBN24
Family
Parents & Siblings
There is no information on Aakarshan Uppal’s parents or potential siblings.
Wife & Children
Aakarshan married Monika on 15 April 2009 in a private ceremony. The couple have a daughter together. There is not much known about his family.
Aakarshan Uppal with his wife and daughter
Career
Corporate Sector
Aakarshan began his career as a Team Leader at Tata Teleservices in December 2007. He ventured into journalism and started working as a Chief Editor at Karnal Reporter NewsPaper in 2009, where he continued to work till 2014. In January 2014, Aakarshan joined Green Mansions-building lights as the Finance Director and worked there for almost three years. He then went to work at Big Save Deals.Com Online Services as the Managing Director in October 2015, where he worked till April 2017 before joining IBN24 News Network as the Crime editor in November 2016.
Controversies
Journalist Aakarshan Uppal was assaulted after covering a drug-related case for IBN24
In 2020, Aakarshan Uppal faced a threat and physical assault in Karnal shortly after he reported a drug-related incident. According to the news channel’s account, Uppal uncovered individuals involved in the drug case after being contacted by an anonymous informant. The informant claimed that the police had apprehended a minimum of three individuals in Ramanagar, located in the Shiv Colony of Karnal. One of the suspects, Gurmeet Singh, was arrested sometime after Uppal covered the story. Unfortunately, Singh passed away in custody two weeks after his arrest. Following Singh’s demise, Uppal and his family purportedly received menacing phone calls from the older brother of the accused, Ghelu. Ghelu held the journalist responsible for his brother’s apprehension. Nevertheless, the police later clarified that Uppal was present at the scene solely to report the incident and had no involvement in Singh’s arrest. On Monday, 7 December 2020, Uppal was subjected to an attack involving lathis and sharp objects, resulting in severe injuries. The news channel condemned this incident on Facebook Live. Subsequently, the police arrested five individuals involved in the attack. The Chief Minister of Haryana, Manohar Lal Khattar, visited the journalist in the hospital and ensured safety measures for him and his family.
Aakarshan among two others arrested for allegedly disrupting Tehsildar’s proceedings in Karnal
In May 2023, two individuals were apprehended by the Civil Lines police, one of whom was a YouTuber, on charges of allegedly behaving inappropriately with a female tehsildar at the local tehsil premises. The detainees were identified as Aakarshan Uppal, who manages a YouTube channel, and Sumit Kumar, a city resident. According to the female tehsildar’s account to the authorities, Sumit visited her office for land registration but lacked complete documentation. She instructed him to return with all the necessary papers. Instead, Sumit contacted YouTuber Uppal, and together with a group, they entered her office and created a disturbance. She further accused them of disorderly conduct. The two were presented in court and subsequently remanded in judicial custody. The hearing for the bail plea filed by their legal representatives took place at a later date. Both individuals were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Sections 186, 34, 342, 353, 354-B, 354, 506, and 509, as well as Sections 67, 67 (A), and 67 of the Information Technology Act. Uppal was arrested in the evening, prompting supporters from social and political groups to gather at the Civil Lines police station in solidarity. They even organized a procession towards the Superintendent of Police’s office. Uppal’s family requested permission to meet him, which was facilitated by Mukesh Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police (Headquarters). After the meeting between Uppal and his family, the group at the police station disbanded. Uppal’s wife, Monika, alleged that he was unfairly implicated in a case for raising public concerns. In an interview she said,
All the sections of law imposed against him should immediately be withdrawn. He was barely performing his duty as a journalist. He was only bringing truth to the fore. People were complaining that their work was not being done at the (tehsildar’s) office. He only showed that as part of his duty. Yesterday evening, he went for his walk and never came back. His phone was also switched off. We have not come here to create any law and order disruption. We have only come here to protest against the wrong committed to Akarshan. He is a respectable member of the society. He has always helped people in need. As part of his duty, he had only been exposing the truth. Arresting him is nothing but suppressing the truth and punishing a man who had been questioning the authorities for their wrongdoings.”
Aakarshan Uppal vs Bajaj Finance
In 2020, Akarshan Uppal conducted a live broadcast on Facebook and shared videos in which he made accusations of fraudulent activities and schemes involving Bajaj Finance Private Limited. Subsequently, Bajaj Finance filed a legal case against Aakarshan Uppal and his IBN24 team members in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Their petition sought to prevent them from disseminating, posting, or making statements on any social media platform that could potentially misinform the public.
Facts/Trivia
- In 2020, a false claim stating Aakarshan Uppal, while working on a case study for IBN24, was attacked by goons after he exposed the Adani group’s land deals has gone viral on social media.
- Aakarshan’s Youtube Digital News Platform IBN24 has 1.34M subscribers as of 2023.