Foolproof security causes hassle to journalists (28 January 1999)

28 January 1999

Foolproof security causes hassle to journalists

By Our Special Representative

CHENNAI, Jan 27: Police arrested three suspects late on Tuesday evening close of the venue of the first cricket Test between Pakistan and India as a result of which they beefed up the security and even mediamen were denied entry into the stadium.

Police officials refused to release the details of the arrests they made but didn't rule out the possibility that the accused might be exploiting the name of Shiv Sena, the Hindu militants who had earlier threatened to disrupt Pakistan's tour but later withdrew the threats.

But the police officials had no excuse to offer for refusing to allow the journalists to enter the ground for their professional duties. So stubborn were the policemen that they stopped the mediamen well outside the premises where they had to stay for more than 120 minutes under scorching sun as more than 10,000 policemen with sophisticated weapons and sniffer dogs took control of the grounds.

There were policemen all along the boundary wall of the stadium and inside the ground - both in the stands and on the field. No less than one dozen policemen were guarding the pitch on which the first Test would be played.

"We are completely helpless. The security people have taken over the charge of the ground and they are not even listening to us," commented A.C Muthiah, president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association.

It was well after four hours when the media were given access to the ground to interview the two captains. But not before the local journalists created a scene, first outside the ground and then outside the field. Outside the ground, the local journalists chanted slogans against the police and also carried banners criticising the attitude of the police.

According to a local journalist, the Tamil Nadu police was extra cautious in the background of a 10-year-old assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi who was killed in a bomb attack during his election campaign. "They are not prepared to take any risks and that's why they have refused to draw a line between a layman and a journalist," he said.

Another another senior cricket correspondent from Calcutta claimed that the security was not tight when Chennai hosted the Champions Trophy hockey competition and the SAF Games. "But this time they have gone crazy. It's all chaos.

"You should expect more like this when you reach New Delhi for the second cricket Test," he warned.

A senior police official came up with the silliest statement just when the journalists were about to enter the field. While stopping the photographers and television crew, he remarked: "No, you can't go inside because we have received a telephone call that shot guns can be fired through the lense of your camera." It took another 15 minutes to make him understand the difference between a tele-gun and a camera lense.

The bottom line is that security is very tight but is creating problems for everyone, the organizers, players, officials and the journalists.

Source :: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)