Priests and officials at the house of Father Chinnappa, archbishop of Madras Mylapore, on Wednesday kept the reporter and cameraman of Times Now news channel under illegal detention for more than two hours inside the archbishop's compound.
They had gone there to talk to an advocate commission which had come to record the bishop's statement in a court case. Times Now reporter Vikram Gopinath and cameraman Ramesh said they were locked up inside the premises without any reason.
When mediapersons who gathered outside the compound demanded their release, some priests, along with a few policemen, allegedly hurled abuses and tried to manhandle the journalists.
About 100 mediapersons blocked the Santhome High Road and demanded action against the policemen and the priests. A large posse of police rushed to the spot and senior officials including additional commissioner of police, law and order, Shakeel Akhter, and joint commissioner P Sakthivelu held talks with mediapersons and the archbishop.
Following this, Father Chinnappa came out and apologised to the mediapersons. He also assured action against the priests who tried to manhandle some mediapersons. Shakeel Akhter said that he would initiate action against the police personnel if found guilty.