Three held for attack on cast, crew of ALTBalaji show
Mumbai: Three persons have been arrested in connection with the attack on the cast and crew of ALTBalaji's under-production show "Fixer" in neighbouring Thane district, a senior police official said Thursday.
Some team members of the web series on Thursday also met Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who assured that strict action will be taken against the culprits.
According to a police official, there was a dispute over selection of a spot for the shoot, following which some men attacked the show's crew members while they were shooting at a set located on Ghodbunder Road in Thane on Tuesday.
Later, the show's assistant director lodged a complaint following which three men - Krishna Sonar, Sonu Das and Suraj Gupta - were arrested on Wednesday, Kasarwadavali police station's senior inspector K Khairnar said.
The accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) and 143 (unlawful assembly) as well as other relevant provisions, he said.
In a video shared by filmmaker-actor Tigmanshu Dhulia, who features in the series, the show's producer, Sakett Saawhney, and actor Mahie Gill alleged they were beaten up by drunk goons.
Meanwhile, the show's director, Soham Shah, Gill, and other cast and crew along with filmmaker Ashoke Pandit met Fadnavis in the state legislature here and informed him about the incident.
Speaking to reporters after their meeting, Pandit and Gill said the chief minister assured that stern action will be taken against the attackers.
Pandit said they apprised Fadnavis about members of the film industry feeling insecure while shooting in Thane, Mira Road and Naigaon areas, where, he caimed, such incidents often take place.
"The entire unit was shooting in a closed set at the Ghodbunder Road in Thane. Some eight to ten people came there and attacked the unit," he said.
"Most of the unit members", including Shah, were injured in the attack, he told reporters.
Gill said the incident took place when the team was busy shooting the climax sequence of the series.
"Suddenly some goons turned up at the set and started attacking. They didn't abuse anyone or say anything. They straight away started hitting people. They approached me also to attack, but I immediately rushed towards a vehicle (for safety)," she added.
Gill said the attackers also vandalised a vanity van.
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EU summit will focus on Iran war, loan to Ukraine blocked by Hungary
Brussels (AP): European Union leaders are holding a summit in Brussels on Thursday for talks on the Iran war, energy prices, migration and an enormous loan for war-ravaged Ukraine being held up by Hungary.
Many of those leaders have deflected entreaties by US President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the global flow of oil, gas and fertiliser.
Rising energy prices because of the war and fears in Europe of a new refugee crisis have pushed leaders to make the Middle East one of the top priorities at the summit.
The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, has floated the idea of a “toolbox” of measures to lower energy prices for leaders to discuss because no single policy will work across the myriad markets in the 27-nation bloc to blunt economic shocks from the war, according to a senior European diplomat who wasn't authorised to be publicly named so spoke on condition of anonymity.
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The summit will also focus on a long-brewing standoff between Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and most other EU nations.
The last EU summit was held in December at a Belgian castle, where the leaders including Orban agreed to a 90 billion-euro (USD 104 billion) loan for Ukraine for help overcoming a budget shortfall in the country as it grapples with a grinding war with Russia.
But a month later, Orban backtracked after the Druzhba oil pipeline was disabled in January after what Ukrainian officials said was a Russian drone attack.
The pro-Russia leader, who has held office in Hungary since 2010, is running an aggressive media campaign villainising both Brussels and Kyiv as he seeks reelection next month.
“If there is no oil, there is no money,” Orban said in a social media post on Tuesday.
To get Ukraine the much-needed loan, EU leaders and diplomats will lobby Orban and Slovakia's prime minister, Robert Fico, whose government has also taken pro-Russia stances.
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen offered for the EU to pay to repair the Druzhba pipeline and the development of alternative fuel lines for Hungary and Slovakia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that any obstruction to the loan is “absolutely unfair” and that there is “no alternative” for the embattled nation than those funds as it faces a severe budget crisis because of the war, which began on February 24, 2022.
“There may be alternatives in terms of financing mechanisms, but there is simply no alternative to strengthening our army,” Zelenksyy said on Wednesday.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told lawmakers in Berlin on Wednesday that the EU must swiftly reach an agreement on the 20th package of sanctions against Russia and the loan.
He said that he would “advocate for that emphatically” in Brussels and that “we must not take into consideration a single country in the European Union that is currently setting up this blockade in Europe now for domestic political reasons and because of an election campaign that is being conducted there.”
Merz said, in urging for more sanctions, that “the needs of the moment call for us to increase the pressure on Moscow together – the US and the European partners together."
