TV crew held at Chennai Archbishop’s house

TV crew held at Chennai Archbishop’s house
CHENNAI: A three-member crew of a private television channel, comprising reporter Vikram Gopinath, cameraperson Manish Dhanani and an assistant cameraman, were illegally detained at the Archbishop’s house in Santhome for more than two hours on Wednesday when they had gone to gather news .
They were later rescued after the police interfered and brought the issue to the notice of senior police officials. Vikram Gopinath has filed a complaint against illegal detention at Mylapore police station.
Vikram and his team had visited the Archbishop Chinnapa’s residence to gather news on a case filed in the Madras High Court in 2006 in which the archbishop is a witness.
As the bishop refused to be present in the court, an advocate commissioner was sent to the bishop’s residence.
The TV crew went to meet the advocate commissioner. But the advocate commissioner and a few staff at archbishop’s house locked the gates and did not allow them to leave the spot.
“Based on advocate commissioner’s phone call, Inspector Appadurai arrived at the spot and ganged up against us. They also used foul language at us’’, the TV channel reporter said.
Later presspersons assembled outside the locked gates of archbishop’s residence. Additional Commissioner of Police Shakeel Akther and his team of senior police officers rushed to the spot following which the TV crew was released. “We are conducting preliminary investigations based on the video footage obtained from the spot as the journalists couldn’t identify their attackers”, Shakeel Akther told Express.
Later Archbishop Chinnapa conveyed his apologies to the TV crew members. Madras Union of Journalists has strongly condemned the incident. The Archbishop could not be reached for a comment.



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