Sena again threatens media
The Shiv Sena on Monday warned that its workers would ‘rein-in anti-Sena media’ if the state government failed to do so, reports HT Correspondent.
The Shiv Sena on Monday warned that its workers would ‘rein-in anti-Sena media’ if the state government failed to do so.
The party also appealed the Home Minister R.R. Patil to withdraw the charges of attempt to murder against its employees for vandalizing the office and assaulting the staff of Marathi news channel IBN Lokmat in Mumbai and Pune on November 20.
The party mouthpiece Saamna slammed ‘anti-Sena’ media and asked the state government to take action.
A Sena delegation led by party legislator Subhash Desai met Patil on Monday and demanded that a counter complaint be lodged with the police against the channel’s editor Nikhil Wagle and his employees for thrashing the Sena workers.
“One of our Sainiks, Vijay, has a fractured skull which has affected his brain and has partly paralysed him. This was because of a camera stand that an employee used to hit him in the counter attack,” said Desai.
A group of Sena activists had vandalised the offices and assaulted staff members of the Marathi news channel for carrying reports that allegedly showed Sena chief Bal Thackeray in bad light.
Saamna also pointed out that the government did not charge the followers of Nationalist Congress Party leader Vinayak Mete with attempt to murder for attacking the house of Loksatta newspaper’s editor Kumar Ketkar in June 2009.
Desai said that along with many other sections, the Sainiks have been booked under Section 307 of Indian Penal Code [attempt to commit murder], which should be removed. “They did not have any intention of killing anyone. They did not have weapons on them,” Desai said. “On the contrary, a young Shiv Sainik has been injured to an extent that he has been operated upon in Bombay Hospital, so they should be charged with 307.”
He said no counter complaint was lodged against the channel’s editor or its employees who attacked the Sainiks.
Patil assured the delegation that he would look into the matter.