Journalists assaulted by Bombay House security staff, Tata Sons apologises

Journalists who had gathered outside the Tata Group headquarters in Mumbai were assaulted during an altercation with the company’s security guards on Friday.

Journalists were assaulted during an altercation with the company’s security guards outside the Tata Group headquarters in Mumbai on Friday.

Several photographers, including Hindustan Times’s staff photographer Arijit Sen, were injured in the assault by the Bombay House security staff.(HT Photo)

The journalists had assembled outside Bombay House to report on the scheduled board meeting of Indian Hotels, a Tata Group company.

Several photographers, including Hindustan Times’s staff photographer Arijit Sen, were injured in the assault by the Bombay House security staff.

At least one photographer was virtually pinned down by four-five security personnel, brutally punched, slapped and then pushed away from the building entrance in south Mumbai’s busy Fort area.

The camera and other equipment of at least two photographers was badly damaged or broken by the security personnel in the fracas.

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Private security personnel of Tata Group assault photojournalists who had assembled at Bombay House for the Indian Hotels’ board meeting in Mumbai on Friday. (PTI)

Police arrived on the scene a short while later and were in the process of lodging complaints in the matter.

A Tata Sons spokesperson later apologised for the incident.

“In the rush during the entry of certain directors, one of our security staff members fell down. The security staff then lost their cool, which they shouldn’t have. We apologise for the incident,” he said.

Later in a statement, Tata Sons said: “We deeply regret the incident during the entry of certain board directors today.

“We profusely apologize to the press corp and their families for this incident. We will ensure that such a situation does not recur.”

The Tata Group has been seeing strong interest following the October 24 decision of the Tata Sons board to remove Cyrus Mistry as chairman. Company patriarch Ratan Tata was subsequently reinstated as interim chairman.

Mistry, however, continues to be chairman of some group companies, including that of Indian Hotels, and Friday’s was its first board meeting after his ouster.

(With agency inputs)

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