L
ate on Aug 14 afternoon, we got wind of the trouble brewing over a snippet we carried on Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray in our Independence Day special. Whether it was his caricature or his quote on Hitler that enraged his followers, we don't know. The Mumbai police apparently seized copies anticipating some bother. Yet, the attack on our Nariman Point office happened.A group of 8-10 men barged into our 10th floor office, shouting pro-Thackeray slogans and castigating us. Seizing office equipment like cellotape dispensers, they smashed glass doors, partitions and windows. They threw photocopy and fax machines repeatedly on the floor and ransacked the front area of our office. A large glass piece narrowly missed one of our office boys. Damage done, the men asked for the editor or a senior staffer and addresses of our other offices. Threatening to return, they left. We believe they were Sena's men.
Our calls for police assistance were promptly attended to. A posse of policemen from Cuffe Parade police station came in minutes and began their work of questioning, finger-printing and so on. CM Vilasrao Deshmukh and home minister R.R. Patil promised us all help. Later, K.L. Prasad, joint commissioner (law and order), visited our office with DCP Brijesh Singh. An fir was registered.
That evening, men of the Sena's south Mumbai unit torched copies of our I-Day issue. The Sena admitted their men had set Outlook copies on fire but denied that any sainik had either organised or executed the attack on our office. The denial carried no currency either with the police or the press. The political class and the media are aware of the repeated threats Sena leaders have been issuing were the Srikrishna Commission report on the Mumbai riots implemented.
