Attack on journalist Herman Gomes: Mumbai Press Club condemns incident, chief minister's office assures action

The Mumbai Press Club on Sunday issued a strong condemnation of an attack by a group of miscreants on Times Now journalist Herman Gomes. The attack is said to have taken place on the intervening night between Saturday and Sunday.A statement by Lata Mishra, the Mumbai Press Club's Secretary, said, "Mumbai Press Club condemns a dastardly attack on Times Now/Mirror reporter Herman Gomes, and demands action against the police officers who refused to file a complaint initially."The statement further says, "Attacks on journalists, physical and otherwise, are on the rise."In a subsequent statement, the organisation said that the Maharashtra chief minister's office, has assured it of "suitable action". It further noted, "The chief minister's office called us to say that the government was for protecting the rights of journalists and ensuring their safety whenever under threat from people and organisations that resort to intimidation and physical attacks."Gomes was returning home along with a friend in a taxi late on Saturday night when he was attacked.When he got out of the cab at around 1.30 am on Sunday, he saw four to six persons waiting near his house in Gamdevi area, Deputy Commissioner of Police (zone-II) Dnyaneshwar Chavan said.The persons started abusing Gomes and later allegedly assaulted him, Chavan said.The journalist was injured in the assault and based on his complaint, the Gamdevi police later registered a case under IPC Sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and other relevant provisions, he said.The motive behind the attack was not yet known, he said, adding an investigation was underway into the case.With inputs from PTI