See through our eyes, not your ears.

Shiv Sena goons attack media office in lawless Maharashtra

BOMBAY — Shiv Sena activists today ransacked the office of a Marathi news channel in suburban Bombay, assaulting journalists and damaging furniture. The attackers barged into the IBN-Lokmat office in Vikhroli and thrashed the staff members, Deputy Police Commissioner R M Vatkar told reporters.

“The office of the news channel of Network 18 group was vandalised by the attackers,” he added.

Journalists and staff members claimed that the Bombay police did not turn up even after their desperate requests to save them from the hooligans of Shiv Sena, who were armed with weapons, iron rods and hockey sticks.

CCTV footage showed the attackers were shouting slogans in support of the party and its chief Bal Thackeray. Computer monitors were smashed, furniture were broken and glass panes were shattered. Even the editor of the channel, Nikhil Wagle, wasn’t spared. The mob also manhandled women employees of the channel.

“Sena has insulted Marathi by attacking a Marathi channel and Marathi journalists,” Wagle said. Sandeep Chavan, a journalist with IBN Lokmat, said the attackers in Bombay told employees they were looking for Wagle and wanted to “teach him a lesson”.

The attackers warned the journalists to not to report anything against the party in the future. “If you say anything against Shiv Sena or Bal Thackeray, we will not tolerate it,” the attackers reportedly said.

Shiv Sena MP and the editor of its mouthpiece Samna, Sanjay Raut, said the party had attacked the media offices as it was misquoting Bal Thackeray’s article on cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. Thackeray had criticized Sachin for his “Bombay for all” comment.

Employees of the channel managed to nab seven goons and handed them over to the police.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan was “promised” strict action against those involved in the attack.

However, it is unlikely that the real perpetrators will be arrested as the police and administration in the lawless state of Maharashtra lacks the will to do it. Maharashtra has a long tradition of political violence and famous for independent India’s first political murder when in 1970, Shiv Sena thugs, supported by the then Congress government, hacked Krishna Desai, CPI MLA from Parel, to death. Most political parties in the state have been using violence with impunity to meet their ends.

Political commentators called the attack on the TV channel a manifestation of competitive militant politics in Maharashtra state.