Chennai pub incident: Police file FIR against journalist and five others

The Chennai police has filed an FIR against a News 24x7 journalist and five others after news channels chased and heckled a group of women at a Chennai pub.

As reported by The News Minute, the FIR was filed under penal sections including obscenity, insulting modesty of women, and making sexual remarks, and also section 4 of the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act.

The report quoted a police press release that said: “While taking the videographs, a few unknown persons uttered abusive, denigrating and obscene remarks against the women coming out of the bar, which were aired later on various channels.”

The incident took place on November 19 at a pub on Turnbulls Road. After a ruckus between the pub’s owners and a group of men barred entry since the pub was closing, news channels including News 24x7, Polimer and Thanthi TV arrived at the scene. 

As women inside the pub tried to leave, some channels followed them, and their subsequent reportage included misogynistic comments on the women for their clothing and the fact that they were at a pub. Read about it here.

On November 23, two complaints were filed in the matter. According to TNM, the first was from a woman who had been chased and filmed outside the pub by media personnel. The second was by a man who alleged the group of men trying to enter the pub had tried to “grope” his wife.

Newslaundry has previously reported on how a section of Tamil media tends to sensationalise its reportage on cases involving women. Read our report on how and why this happens.

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