The staff of the Mumbai office of Star News was attacked Monday and its offices ransacked by about 50 activists of the so-called Hindu Rashtriya Sena after it broadcast an interview with a runaway couple – a a teenage Hindu girl and a young Muslim man.
“The attack happened Monday evening because of a report that we carried. We have never heard of the group that attacked the office. They call themselves the Hindu Rashtriya Sena. It is difficult to say who they are. It was just a bunch of people who came and attacked the premises of Star News and broke everything inside including the private property of employees,” said Uday Shankar, the channel’s CEO.
“Some people suffered minor injuries. Mercifully, there were no serious injuries. In this specific case, there was no earlier threat. We don’t even know the exact reason for the provocation,” Shankar said.
“They were carrying lathis, stones and daggers in their hand and smashed cars parked in the premises. They then barged into the ground floor reception and damaged it. Dozens of protesters entered the channel’s first and second floor office and pelted stones,” the Times of India reported quoting an eyewitness.
The attackers, sources said, threw pamphlets before fleeing from the spot soon after the police arrived on the spot. The pamphlets stated that a Hindu minor girl and a Muslim boy had eloped from Surat and reached Star TV’s Mumbai office. The pamphlets alleged the channel was deliberately doing stories on inter-cast love marriages.
Maharshtra Deputy Chief Minister RR Patil said that the police would take strict action against the attackers. “Eighteen people have been arrested in connection with the incident,” Patil told reporters.
The attack came on a day when Shiv Sainiks stormed a press conference of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty, while she was trying to clarify her hug with Hollywood actor Richard Gere on the sidelines of an AIDS awareness campaign in Delhi.
“I have learnt about the attack on Star TV by members of a Hindu fundamentalist group. The concerned State Government should take firm action and book the culprits for justice immediately. This is an assault on democracy and the fundamental rights of the media, which I strongly condemn,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi said in a statement.
The Editors Guild of India condemned the attack saying it is unacceptable in a democratic society. “The hooliganism unleashed against the televison channel shows the growth of intolerance in our society and the scant respect shown towards freedom of press by members of extremist organisations,” a guild statement said.
The guild has demanded that the Maharashtra government take effective steps to curb activities of such organisations. “Trespass, destruction of property and intimidation of employees of media organisations is unacceptable in a democratic society,” it said.
