Ofcom fines ZEE UK �25k for yoga show on Lamhe

UK media regulator, Ofcom has fined ZEE Network UK (Asia TV Limited) �25,000 after it aired potentially harmful content on its now defunct Lamhe channel.

Ofcom came to its conclusion after the show ‘Yoga For You’ by Dr Naram on the channel gave medical advice to cure potentially serious medical conditions by using recommended ayurvedic products and herbal remedies. The show was broadcast in June 2014 and Ofcom found the broadcaster in breaches of Rules 2.1, 9.4 and 9.5 of the Code.

Ofcom found that the channel permitted Dr Naram to give unsubstantiated and unqualified medical advice with significant potential for harm to viewers and concluded that the broadcast was in breach of Rule 2.1. Ofcom found that the medical advice to treat two serious medical conditions, cancer and hernias, had the potential to cause serious harm. As a result of the claims made by Dr Naram, that the recommended ayurvedic products and treatments alone might treat the conditions, some viewers with serious medical conditions might not seek, forego, or delay conventional medical treatment on the basis of what they had seen.

ZEE Network stated that it was not its intention to run the programme in the UK. It explained that the programme had been broadcast due to ���an unfortunate incident when the wrong tape number was inserted into playout server�۝ by a fairly new member of staff. This was due to an unexpected absence of a senior colleague.

Lamhe was replaced with the new entertainment channel &TV in April this year.