Around 25 mediapersons were manhandled by the police on Wednesday when they were reporting on a demonstration against loan recovery agents outside a bank in Matunga. Five of the mediapersons, including The Indian Express photographer Prashant Nadkar, were detained at Matunga police station for an hour. They were allowed to leave after Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IV) Sunil Ramanand arrived at the police station. In a complaint to Ramanand, the mediapersons said: “In spite of seeing the cameras and our identity cards, the police pushed us inside the police vehicle (and were taken to Matunga police station). Senior Police Inspector Azad Modi, who was present on the spot, said to one of his staff ‘they should have informed us that a protest is going to take place here’.” The complaint also said: “The protest was peaceful. until the police started manhandling everyone, including us.” The mediapersons later met Deputy CM R R Patil and showed him TV footage of the incident. Patil told this paper: “Prima facie, it appears the police have made excessive use of force on mediapersons. I have already ordered an inquiry into the matter by the Joint Commissioner of Police. I am hopeful of a speedy investigation.”
