A bizarre story about a TV journalist who reported on the shoulders of a flood victim, standing knee-high in water has surfaced amid footage of the devastating monsoon floods in the Utterakhand state.

The TV channel decided not to run the footage citing it was inhumane.

The reporter, however, claimed that the flood survivor was proud to help him because "it was the first time he jad seen someone of my level."

Nishant Chaturvedi, who runs the News Express channel, told AFP, "What he did was very inhuman. You cannot ride on someone's back for a story. We terminated him on Tuesday."

News Express did not run the news clip because it was distasteful. The video is now on Youtube and the newspaper is trying to find out who uploaded the video on the Net.

The reporter, Narayan Pargaien told the media website, newslaundry.com that it was all done in good taste and that the man was showing respect. "It was the first time someone of my level had visited his house," Pargaien said.

Pargaien accused his cameraman of taking wide-angle shots when he was supposed to zoom in and shoot above the chest. The journalist also accused him of trying to ruin his career.

The cameraman allegedly posted the video on Youtube and the clip has gone viral.

Mr. Chaturvedi has said that News Express will post the video clip on the company website to explain that such reporting goes against journalistic standards and that the channel does not endorse the footage. With Reports by the Hindustan Times