UK Riots 2011: Sangat TV Praised for its Heroic Live Coverage

Sangat TV, a four-man operation in a makeshift newsroom in Edgbaston, Birmingham, has been highly praised for its heroic reporting of the Birmingham riots using a minimum of equipment.

While big broadcasting channels such as Sky News and ITN have flown in big-name presenters to riot-stricken cities across England, a couple of Sikh men armed with a point-and-shoot camera have stolen the headlines.

Particular praise has been given to TV presenter Upinder Randhawa, 31, who was covering Tuesday's mayhem for Sikh satellite channel Sangat TV.

Major news channels had no live pictures of the riots when they first flared. So they cut to Upinder's coverage as he drove around the city filming the disturbances, said The Guardian.

A particular brave moment which highlighted Randhawa's integrity was on Tuesday night, when he filmed from a car a police pursuit of young rioters down a Birmingham backstreet.

With police lagging far behind, Sangat presenter Upinder Randhawa shouted to the officers: "Do you need a lift? We'll give you a lift. Get in the car." Twenty seconds later the rioters were arrested, reported The Guardian.

Another moment of praise came when Sangat TV revealed another exclusive; Randhawa told his audience hours earlier, he had been close to tears on air while filming a group of distraught Muslim men who had learned about the death of their friend.

Commenting on his reporting, Randhawa said on Twitter:

"I wasn't scared even though it was the first time I had covered stuff live. Wherever people told me the riots were, that's where we went."

"I really wish I could have done a lot more. People are saying nice things but it is not me who is the hero," quoted The Sun.

Sangat TV was launched in September 2010, and run on donations from the family and friends of three Sangat Trust directors who own the channel.

Follow Zara Bokhari on Twitter: @zara_bokhari