Press room ransacked

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, APRIL 30. The Press Room inside the High Court premises was ransacked and reporters threatened by a group of advocates owing allegiance to the Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) today.

The irate group smashed the doorpanes, broke furniture, a water heater and damaged the electronic items in the room even as reporters watched in disbelief. A journalist suffered minor injuries on his leg when a splinter of a broken chair hit him.

After the vandalism, which lasted for about 15 minutes, the group left the room hurling verbal abuses at the media personnel charging that their statements were not being published. Earlier, the MHAA president, Mr. R. Karuppan, who was arrested on Saturday in connection with a 1998 contempt of court case, was brought from the Central prison and produced in the chamber of Mr. Justice K. Narayana Kurup. Subsequently, the warrant, issued against him on April 27, was recalled.

Following this, the MHAA held an hour-long meeting, and later came the attack on the pressmen. A formal complaint was made to the Chief Justice, Mr. N.K. Jain, about the incident by the media personnel. Meanwhile, the Chennai Press Club, in a statement, condemned the incident and demanded action against those responsible for the violence.

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Section  : Southern States
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