Men chased us, tried to damage cameras: Photographer

I reached Matoshree at 10.30 pm for fresh images of the situation, as matters had been tense ever since news broke of Balasaheb Thackeray's deteriorating health, says MiDDAY photgrapher

Suddenly, a mob emerged from nowhere, and started running towards the OB vans of some television channels that were waiting nearby. Everyone was caught unawares, and angry members of the crowd began pouncing on the cameramen from news channels, and photographers from newspapers. Although I managed to get few snaps, they began pushing us and tried to damage our cameras.u00a0

Realising that the situation was volatile, I immediately hid my camera and ran for safety. They began chasing us. Seven of us from different media establishments were chased till the Kalanagar end of the skywalk. As we climbed the skywalk, we could see the crowd going on a rampage below. We even saw Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek park their car near the Bandra-Kurla Complex, from where they walked towards Matoshree. We were afraid that our cameras would be snatched, as the crowd still glared at us.

Shiv Sena supporters outside Matoshree

By then, the group had gone berserk. They stopped a truck on the road, pelting it with stones and breaking its window. After some time, we saw Uddhav Thackeray emerge from Matoshree and pacify the crowds, telling them that Balasaheb's condition was fine.