Abhinav Pandey: Bio, Wiki, Age, Caste, Family, Controversy, Etc.

Abhinav Pandey is an Indian journalist who works mainly in Hindi digital news. He is known to most viewers as the face of The News Pinch, a news platform that was started by him on 15 August 2025. Before that, he had been employed as Associate Editor at The Lallantop, and earlier at ABP News.

He is currently in the news for two reasons. His ground coverage of the student protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in 2026 was widely watched. Soon after, his coverage of the Jharkhand recruitment exam protests was questioned by a section of protesters and by the news website OpIndia, and allegations of bias were made against him. These allegations have not been proved, and no public reply from him has been reported so far.

Quick Info

• Profession: Journalist, YouTuber, founder and Editor-in-Chief of The News Pinch
• Caste: Brahmin
• Religion: Hindu
• Hometown: Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh
• Known For: Ground reporting on the 2026 Jantar Mantar student protests, and for the controversy over his Jharkhand paper leak coverage

Bio Summary

Early Life and Education

Abhinav Pandey is originally from Prayagraj, which was formerly called Allahabad. His early education is reported to have been completed in the same city.

Higher studies were done by him at the University of Allahabad. It has been written by one of his former teachers that he was a student of the Centre of Media Studies there. A journalism course was later done by him at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication in New Delhi, which is one of the best known journalism institutes in the country.

His exact date of birth has not been shared publicly. For this reason, his age is listed here as Not Known.

Career at ABP News

His television career was started at ABP News. He was employed there for close to five years, as per media reports. Several newsroom responsibilities were handled by him during this period. A reputation as a hard working reporter was built by him in these years.

Career at The Lallantop

He joined The Lallantop, a Hindi digital news platform, and was employed there for around three years. The post of Associate Editor was held by him at the time of his exit.

His profile grew steadily during this period. He was described by some media watchers as one of the strongest faces of the platform after its editor Saurabh Dwivedi. His ground coverage of the Mahakumbh was widely praised, and his popularity was increased greatly by it.

Exit From The Lallantop

His resignation from The Lallantop was reported in August 2025. It was reported that the resignation had been submitted a few days earlier and had been accepted by the management. The public announcement was made by him only later.

Two versions of the exit were reported. As per one version, the platform was left by him because a new media venture was being planned with a few colleagues. As per another version, quoted by media portals, his exit was linked to an internal power struggle. No official statement on the reason was given by him at that time. Neither version has been officially confirmed.

Launch of The News Pinch

A new venture was launched by him on 15 August 2025, which is India’s Independence Day. The platform was named The News Pinch. A website, a YouTube channel and a mobile app were included in the plan.

He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the platform. Editorial decisions and the overall direction of the platform are taken by him. Some former colleagues from The Lallantop were also brought into the team, and journalist Saurabh Tripathi was among them. Vinay Sultan was introduced by him as the News Editor of the platform.

The tagline used by him on his social media profiles is “शब्द ही शस्त्र, पत्रकारिता ही धर्म,” which means that words are the weapon and journalism is the duty.

Coverage of the 2026 Jantar Mantar Protests

Large student protests were held at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in 2026. The protests were led by a youth group known as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Accountability was demanded by the protesters over exam paper leaks and other irregularities.

The protests were covered closely by him and by his team. Ground reports and videos from the protest site were published by The News Pinch, and these were widely shared. The resignation of the then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was demanded through this coverage. His videos from the site were watched by lakhs of viewers, and he was seen interacting directly with the protesting students.

His approach during this period was described by his critics as that of an activist rather than that of a neutral reporter. This description has been rejected by his supporters, who say that the concerns of students were simply being carried to a larger audience by him.

Jharkhand Paper Leak Controversy

A separate wave of student protests was held in Ranchi, Jharkhand, in 2026. Irregularities in the JPSC Civil Services and JSSC-CGL recruitment examinations were alleged by thousands of students. Leaked question papers and tampered OMR sheets were among the allegations made by them.

His coverage of these protests was questioned. It was reported by OpIndia in August 2026 that the tone used by him for the Hemant Soren government in Jharkhand was far softer than the tone that had been used by him for the central government during the Delhi protests. It was pointed out in the report that no campaign demanding the resignation of the state education minister was run by him, although such a demand had been pressed strongly in Delhi.

It was also reported that a social media post had been made by him in which steps taken by the Jharkhand government were highlighted. Arrests and the resignation of the JPSC chairman were mentioned in that post. It was also asked by him in the post why a CBI inquiry had not been recommended by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

“Go Back News Pinch” Slogans in Ranchi

Anger against him was seen on the ground in Ranchi. During on-ground coverage by journalist Vinayak Dev Trivedi, slogans against News Pinch were raised by a section of the protesters. It was alleged by them that the platform was shielding the state government.

A more serious claim was also made on camera by some protesters. It was claimed by them that an amount of one lakh rupees had allegedly been accepted by him in return for favourable interviews and for giving a clean chit to the state government. This claim is only an allegation. No evidence for it has been made public, and it has not been confirmed by any official inquiry. No public reply to this allegation from him has been reported so far.

Readers are advised to treat this matter as disputed. One side has made the allegation, and the other side has not responded publicly. Neither position can be treated as the final truth at this stage.

Personal Life and Background

Some Lesser Known Facts About Abhinav Pandey

• His platform was deliberately launched on 15 August, and it was described by him as a personal dream and not merely as a channel.
• He was taught at the University of Allahabad, and a public post praising his reporting was later written by one of his former teachers there.
• His popularity is said to have risen sharply after his Mahakumbh coverage was appreciated by viewers.
• Two accounts are used by him on X, and a large following has been built on Instagram as well.
• He is followed by close to ten lakh people on Instagram, as per the follower count seen on his profile.
• He was called one of the strongest faces of The Lallantop after Saurabh Dwivedi by some media portals, before his exit.
• Brand collaboration enquiries are handled through a separate business email listed on his Instagram profile, which shows that sponsored work is also done by him.
• His resignation was first reported by media portals before it was announced by him publicly.

Social Media Presence

Frequently Asked Questions