Senior sports journalist Aghore Mondal yesterday dismissed the allegations that were labelled against him in a Bengali daily.
He also said that he would be forced to take legal action unless the newspaper did not apologise properly admitting their mistake within a week.
In a report headlined "Cheating Aghore Mondal style", the Daily Janakantha on Tuesday accused the reporter of using the daily's name illegally to obtain media accreditation for the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 Championship in South Africa.
"The report is totally baseless. I submitted my documents (for the accreditation) as a freelancer because right at the moment I am not involved with any media house. Everybody can understand my claim if s/he goes through the documents of my correspondence with the organisers," said Mondal in a press conference that he organised to clear his position.
He also provided the attending reporters with the relevant papers that he had from the organisers. And none of the papers showed he used the name of the daily, let alone illegally.
"I have been working as a sports reporter for the last fifteen years, but that newspaper (Janakantha) termed me as a 'so-called reporter' which is beyond my imagination. I firmly protest this news which has tarnished my professional and personal image," he added.
"I will definitely go for legal action if the Janakantha authority does not apologise properly for the mistakes within a week," he warned.