IBN offices attacked: Sunil Raut in police custody

Mumbai: Prime accused in IBN Lokmat attacks case Sunil Raut - brother of Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut - was produced in Vikhroli court on Wednesday. He has been sent to two days police custody.

The court proceedings are over for the day and all the accused have been taken in to extended police custody.

The custody of 13 others accused in the attack case in Mumbai, has been extended for another 14 days.

Sunil Raut's name came up in police investigations a day after the IBN Lokmat offices in Mumbai and Pune were attacked by Shiv Sainiks. Raut had been absconding for some days but surrendered before the Mumbai Police on Tuesday evening.

Raut surrendered after sustained media pressure, walking upto the Kannamwar Nagar police station in Vikhroli.

On Saturday, November 21, police had arrested 23 Shiv Sena activists and detained three others in connection with the attacks.

While 17 people have been arrested in Mumbai, six Shiv Sainiks have been arrested in Pune. Out of the 17 arrested in Mumbai seven were handed over to the police by IBN Lokmat staff on Friday following the attack.

The 17 arrested in Mumbai have been charged with attempt to murder, trespass and rioting - all bailable offences.

The Shiv Sena activists had vandalised IBN offices in Mumbai and Pune last week and assaulted staff members including women journalists for carrying reports that showed Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in bad light.

SENA UNREPENTANT

Despite the all round condemnation of the attack Shiv Sena has remained unrepentant and has blamed the media for the attack by its activists on the IBN offices in Mumbai and Pune on Friday evening.

Shiv Sena said that media coverage on party supremo Bal Thackeray provoked Shiv Sainiks to launch the attack against the news channel.

An article in the party mouthpiece Saamana has in fact blamed the media for instigating the attack. The Saamana editorial claims Sainiks were provoked by the allegedly disrespectful language used by IBN Lokmat against Bal Thackeray.

"Over the last few days, IBN Lokmat has used condemnable language against Bal Thackeray. Shiv Sainiks were opposing this. We will not tolerate such language," said the article.