JANUARY 19, 2008
Posted February 1, 2008
NDTV
ATTACKED
NDTV offices were vandalized and a staff member beaten by Hindu nationalist activists after the channel asked viewers to evaluate controversial painter M.F. Husein as a possible candidate for a prestigious national award in an text message opinion poll, according to NDTV photographer Anamitra Chakladar and local news reports.
At least 15 men wielding hockey sticks smashed furniture and equipment, menacing staff and beating an office assistant, news reports said. The group left posters identifying themselves as the Hindu Samrajya Sena and demanding the station apologize for including Husein, who they called “anti-Hindu,” in a poll listing hypothetical contenders for India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna award, the reports said.
A police case has been filed by the station against the leader of the activist group, Ashok Sharma, The Hindu report said, but no arrests have been reported.