Day After Attack on Journalists, 11 DMK Functionaries Land in Prison
CHENNAI: As many as 11 DMK men were arrested after a mob of DMK men, numbered about 60, attacked journalists who covered the developments of DMK treasurer and party heir apparent M K Stalin’s bid to tender his resignation owning moral responsibility over the worst-ever poll debacle of the party in the recent Lok Sabha polls.
The arrested include Murali, secretary, DMK Youth Wing, Poonamallee Kaattupaakkam, Aruldass, secretary, DMK Youth Wing, Thousand Lights, another secretary of Youth Wing Kamalakannan, Jeyaprakash, secretary of Youth Wing, Tiruvanmiyur, Vincent Babu, secretary, Youth Wing, T Nagar, another secretary of Youth Wing Vinayaga Moorthy, former Youth Wing organiser Senthil Kumar, Devakumar, Murugan, Ashok, and Rajesh, all members of the party.
The arrested were produced before the Saidapet Metropolitan Magistrate Court XVIII and were remanded in judicial custody for 15 days. All the accused were then lodged in Vellore Prison.
Times Now reporter Shabbir Ahmed and cameraman Jayaprakash, Headlines Today cameraman Daniel, Puthiya Thalaimurai reporter Karthikeyan, were those injured.
Journalists Shabbir Ahmed and Priyamvatha lodged separate complaints at Teynampet police station while another journo Thiyaga Chemmal lodged a complaint at the Saidapet police station.
Cases were registered under the Sections 147 (rioting), 294 b (use of obscene words), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint), 506(1)(criminal intimidation) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with Section 3 the Tamil Nadu Public Properties Damage Act.
The arrests were made on the complaints lodged at Teynampet while the complaint at Saidapet is under investigation.
Meanwhile, several journalist forums slammed the attack on the journalists and staged demonstrations in several parts of the city.