Video: Security staff assaults journalists outside Bombay House, Tata Sons issues apology
Screengrabs from the video
A group of media photographers were assaulted during an alternation with company’s security guards outside the Tata Group headquarters in Mumbai earlier today.
Media persons had assembled outside Bombay House to report on the outcome of the board meeting of Indian Hotels, a Tata Group company where Cyrus Mistry is still chairman. It was his first board meeting after his ouster from the company last month.
As soon as Mistry arrived at the headquarters, to chair a board meeting to consider quarterly financial performance of the company, photographers went beyond the cordoned off area to click pictures.
In a bid to control the situation, the security personnel roughed up the photographers, injuring those from media outlets like Hindustan Times, Mid-Day and Mumbai Mirror.
Those injured were identified as Arijit Sen, Atul Kamble and Suryakant Niwate. The incident was also captured on video.
The situation was later brought under control with the help of officials from Mata Ramabai Police. Four security guards and three photographers have been taken for medical check up.
Following the incident, a Tata Sons spokesperson 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.
Tata Sons has been in garnering a lot of media attention in recent weeks ever since the board decided to remove Cyrus Mistry as chairman.
The sudden announcement about the decision to replace the chairman of one of India’s biggest and most prolific companies after a short span of four years took the entire business world by surprise.
Since the decision was made public on October 24, the company’s previous chairman, Ratan Tata, has stepped in as interim chairman.
Mistry, meanwhile, continues to remain the chairman of some group companies like TCS, Tata Steel and Tata Motors.
Sources claim that Mistry has no plans to quit as Chairman of these firms. “He will discharge his fiduciary duty as required by law in all his positions in the Tata group,” a source close to Mistry had said.
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