Payal Mehta, My ‘Sherni’: A Decade Of Journalism, Friendship & A Story That Will Live Forever

For those of us who worked alongside her, Payal Mehta was more than a journalist whose name appeared on a byline.

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This Sunday began with a phone call I wish I had never received. A former colleague called me in a panicked voice and told me that our colleague and friend of nearly a decade, Payal Mehta, had passed away.

For a few moments, I thought he was joking. I had spoken to Payal just a day earlier.

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Then he shared some posts with me. The shock slowly sank in. It took me several hours to come to terms with the fact that our “Sherni" Payal was no more.

Payal and I had an association that went back almost a decade. In 2017, we joined a new news channel around the same time. We were together during the pre-launch editorial meetings and, after those meetings, would regularly call each other to discuss stories, developments and the day’s news.

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One of the memories that has stayed with me most vividly is from August 2017.

Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh had been convicted by a special CBI court on August 25, and was to be sentenced three days later. Payal was sent to Panchkula to cover the developments. After the conviction, violence broke out in parts of Haryana and Punjab, with journalists and media vehicles among those caught in the chaos. The violence eventually claimed dozens of lives and left hundreds injured.

Our OB van and camera unit were from Jammu. At one point, my VJ called me and said, “Sir, Payal news ke liye pagal hai. Yahan violence ho raha hai. Yeh khud bhi maregi aur humein bhi marvayegi."

One of our OB vans was set on fire. Payal and the team had a narrow escape. But none of that deterred her. She continued reporting through the day and was........

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