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Star struck for love tale

Activists of a hitherto unknown Hindu group, inflamed by an interfaith love story beamed on STAR News, ravaged the channel’s Mumbai office on Monday.

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MUMBAI: Activists of a hitherto unknown Hindu group, inflamed by an interfaith love story beamed on STAR News, ravaged the channel’s Mumbai office on Monday.

The well-planned attack — intruders were equipped with hammers, posters, and pamphlets — was apparently provoked by a news report featuring a minor girl’s relationship with a 23-year-old Gujarat man.

More than 80 activists affiliated to one Hindu Rashtra Sena forced their way into the STAR News office at Mahalakshmi at around 4pm in three vans. Once inside, the intruders smashed window panes and wrecked vehicles, a STAR News spokesperson said.“They completely ransacked the office and injured our security personnel and other staff,” the spokesperson said.

“It is alarming that people are using such means to register protests.”

The spokesperson said the channel believed the attack was a reaction to the coverage of the elopement of a young Surat couple. “As a responsible news channel, we have factually reported the situations surrounding the case,” the spokesperson said.

Additional Commissioner of Police (central region) Rajnish Seth told DNA that the channel was following the Surat story for the past four days.

“The Hindu Rashtra Sena was enraged by the portrayal of a minor Hindu girl, who was kidnapped by her boyfriend from Surat and brought to Mumbai,” Seth said.

Although reports suggest that the couple came to Mumbai with mutual consent, the man can be charged with kidnapping under the law because the girl is a minor.

Chandramohan Puppala, STAR News executive editor (Hindi), who was injured in the attack, told DNA that his efforts to reason with the attackers failed.

“I was trying to tell them that I would put their perspective before the right quarters in the channel,” Puppala said.

“But a group of protestors armed with hammers began to pound anything in sight,” Puppala said. “They were also distributing pamphlets and shouting slogans. When I tried to stop them, a protestor attacked me.”

Later, police rounded up 18 persons for the attack. Cases of rioting and attempt to murder have been registered. The police also recovered 34 hammers, several iron rods, and some pamphlets left behind by the protestors.

Uday Shankar, CEO and editor of STAR News, said two security personnel and a senior editorial employee were injured. He said the damage to property was extensive. Some 50 four-wheelers and scores of two-wheelers parked in the premises were damaged, police said.

“Stern action will be taken against the culprits so that nobody dares to attack a media office in future,” said RR Patil, deputy chief minister, who visited the office later.

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