Mumbai journalist, friend beaten up by unknown attackers outside residence

Mumbai: A television journalist was injured when a group of unidentified people allegedly assaulted him near his house in south Mumbai early on Sunday, police said.

Herman Gomes, working with a private TV channel, was returning home along with a friend in a taxi late on Saturday night. When he got out of the cab 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 told PTI. 

The persons started abusing Gomes and later allegedly assaulted him, Chavan said. 

"I was attacked by four people out of nowhere. You can see my condition. I have got six stitches on my right eye. All I can say is, these people were waiting for me for a long time. It was not a last-minute provocation. They stood ready for the attack. They thrashed my friend as well and took away his mobile phone," Gomes told ANI.

Based on the journalist's complaint, the Gamdevi police later registered a case under IPC sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 324 (voluntary causing hurt by dangerous weapons) and other relevant provisions, he said. 

The motive behind the attack was not yet known, the police said, adding an investigation was underway into the case. 

Journalists' associations in the city condemned the attack and alleged that police did not file the victim's complaint promptly. The Mumbai Press Club termed the attack on Gomes as a "dastardly act".

An association of crime reporters in the city, in a statement, demanded immediate arrest of the assailants. It urged Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to take action against the police officers who allegedly delayed registration of the First Information Report (FIR) in the matter.