Three photojournalists were beaten up by private security guards outside the “Bombay House” while they were trying to click pictures of ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry on his arrival at the Tata headquarters in south Mumbai to chair a Board meeting of Tata group firm Indian Hotels Company ltd (IHCl).
The three photojournalists who were manhandled by the Tata group’s security guards were, Sant Kumar (Times of India), Arjit Singh (Hindustan Times) and Atul Kamble
(Mid-Day). Cameras and equipment belonging to the photographers of Hindustan Times and Mid-Day were damaged.
Trouble broke out minutes before Mistry–who is the chairman of the IHCl arrived at the “Bombay House” to preside over the Board meeting. The Press photographers gathered at the venue scrambled to click photographs of the ousted Tata Sons chairman.
In their effort to control the photographers, the security guards of Tata group intervened and tried to forcefully remove the photographers from the scene. The photographers resisted the security personnel’s efforts. In the commotion that followed, the security guards roughed up three photographers.
Before long, the personnel from the Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Marg police station rushed to the scene and brought the situation under control. The injured photo-journalists were rushed to the State-run St George Hospital.
Meanwhile, several media associations like Mumbai Press Club, Bombay Union of Journalists (BUJ), Bombay News Photographers' Association and TV Journalists Association condemned the incident. On its part, the Tata group expressed “deep regret” over the incident and apologized to the injured photo-journalists.
In its statement condemning the incident, the Mumbai Press Club demanded the immediate arrest of Tata House’s security personnel, who were involved in the incident. “The Mumbai Press Club does not expect a corporate house like Tatas to indulge in violent practices against media persons, and demands explanation from the corporate authorities who allowed security personnel to take this extreme step”.
Disapproving the shocking and unprovoked attack on journalists by Tata Group’s private security personnel, the BUJ stated, “The BUJ asserts the right of the media to cover incidents of public interest in a public space. The road outside Bombay House, it must be stressed, is a public space and not the private property of the Corporate house”. It also demanded the arrest of security personnel behind the incident.
In its statement, the Tata Group said, “We deeply regret the incident during the entry of certain board directors today. We profusely apologise to the press corp and their families for this incident. We will ensure that such a situation does not recur.”
“We do understand the difficult job and trying situations in which the media corp undertake their duty and have always supported their endeavour. We wish to reiterate that we treasure our cordial relationship with the members of the media and will strive to ensure that it is maintained," the Tata Group said in the statement.