Zeenews Bureau
Mumbai: A day after goons belonging to Shiv Sena vandalised the offices of a news channel here, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Saturday assured journalists of strict action against the culprits.
“Whoever supports such an attack will not be spared,” Chavan said after a meeting with senior journalists here at his residence.
Condemning the attack, Chavan said, “Every person has the right to express his views in a democratic country. But the way it was done (in yesterday’s case) was not right. No body has the right to attack physically not only media personnel but also any person whosoever.”
A delegation led by Rajya Sabha member Vijay Darda and
senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai met Chavan at his official
residence Varsha in Malabar Hill this afternoon.
"Chavan has assured us that he will ensure strictest
possible action against those behind the attack," Sardesai
told reporters after the meeting.
The delegation demanded that attacks on media be made
a non-bailable offence and Chavan assured them that he would
look into the same.
"We are confident that there will be prompt action
against those who engineered the attack," Darda said.
On Friday, Shiv Sainiks vandalised the office of Network 18-affiliated TV channels at Vikhroli in northeast Mumbai.
Shiv Sena MP and the editor of party mouthpiece Saamna, Sanjay Raut said that the Sainiks had attacked the media offices as the group was misquoting Bal Thackeray's article on Sachin Tendulkar. Thackeray had criticised Sachin for saying Mumbai is for everybody.
17 persons sent to two days police custody
Meanwhile, a local court on Saturday remanded all
the 17 Shiv Sena members, arrested for attacking the
IBN-Lokmat Marathi news channel office, to police custody till
November 23.
The 17 were produced before the Vikhroli metropolitan
magistrate, which remanded them to two day police custody.
All the accused have been booked under various
sections of the Indian Penal Code including attempt to murder,
outraging the modesty of women and assault.
The police had today sought the custody of the
arrested accused in order to investigate under whose behest
they were acting and who had instigated the attack.
The police has named Sunil Raut, brother of Shiv Sena
MP Sanjay Raut as a wanted and prime accused in the case.
Suspected Shiv Sena activists yesterday vandalised the
offices of the Marathi news channel in Mumbai and Pune and
assaulted staff members including journalists for carrying
reports that allegedly showed Bal Thackeray in bad light.
Inputs from PTI
First Published: Saturday, November 21, 2009, 15:31