Noted smuggler Jamim Shah clears dues to government BY OUR REPORTER Noted smuggler Jamim Shah, who is operating the cable channel -- Space Time Net Work -- finally cleared the dues amounting to 4.98297 million rupees as royalty to the Ministry for Information and Communications. The Ministry in return renewed its license to continue the cable channel. Shah is believed to be the Nepal agent of Daud Ibrihim, an underground criminal gang most wanted by India. When his channel was banned by the Ministry, Shah, chairman of the Network, created propaganda through some newspapers sponsored by him that the case was the result of a misunderstanding on the 'give and take' between the Ministry and his company. The Network programmes could not be viewed on Wednesday and Thursday, last week. On Thursday, he cleared the dues in the Ministry. Some sources reveal that Shah was trying to manipulate the Information and Communications Minister Jaya Prakash Gupta by offering an attractive amount of money to him. But, Gupta took the decision to send ministry officials and police to cut the Network line on Wednesday. This was the first action of the present government against those who are trying to evade paying revenue, which is very much appreciable, say observers. It is very much astonishing that the Network, which shuts off the line of its subscribers who fail to clear their monthly bill within two months, was found not settling the revenue of the government for four years. A subscriber said that for two days the Network failed to provide its service to its subscribers, who had paid their bills in time. In this case, the Network has to compensate them, he pointed out. Accordingly, many of the subscribers are unhappy of those cheap programmes, specially the channel which gives adult movies during late night. They say that such cheap programmes should be censored by the Ministry. It is learnt that the Network has about 40 thousand subscribers in the Valley only. It is collecting Rs. 250 from general subscribers who have not used the decoder service. In this way the Network earns Rs. ten million only from general subscribers. But, it also hides its real income, according to a source. On the other hand, it is said that the Network clears the dues it has to give the pay TV channels through hundi in Dubai, which is illegal. According to reports that appeared in local weeklies, Jamim Shah is also involved in drug trafficking. Nepal Jagaran, a vernacular weekly states that INTERPOL is also monitoring the activities of Shah. http://www.peoplesreview.com.np/p-review/2000/04/27042000/noted.html