Jolie's guards granted bail

Nov 17, 2006, 11:41 GMT

Mumbai, Nov 17 (IANS) Three bodyguards of Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, who were arrested for their involvement in an ugly fracas at a school here, were granted bail Friday.

They were produced before the Metropolitan Magistrate's court in south Mumbai and their lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani sought for bail saying all the charges against them were bailable.

The trio - Thomas Matadam, 47, Robert Patrick Dunn, 35 and Michael John Brert, 50 - are all British nationals.

The three were taken into custody from the Taj Mahal Hotel in south Mumbai early Friday.

The judge granted them a bail of Rs.25,000 each. They have been asked to report every day for the next seven days at the Azad Maidan police station here.

Trouble erupted Thursday when Jolie reached the Anjuman-E-Islam school in south Mumbai as students were preparing to leave for home. A portion of the school had been converted to resemble a Pakistani police station for the shooting of the film 'A Mighty Heart'.

As the students were rushing out, some of Jolie's bodyguards tried to prevent them from leaving, according to parents waiting outside the school. The parents alleged that the bodyguards humiliated, abused children and women, and some even passed comments like 'You bloody Indian'.

Parents had demanded an apology from Jolie and lodged an FIR late Thursday against the guards for alleged manhandling and abuse.

'They were arrested after parents lodged an FIR against the three bodyguards accusing them of abusing, creating public nuisance and roughing up parents, students and media persons,' a senior official at the Azad Maidan Police station told IANS.

According to parents, the police were initially reluctant to record a complaint against the bodyguards but later relented.

In a statement, the film's producers Thursday evening had blamed the incident on paparazzi waiting at the gates of the school.

The actress has been in Mumbai for the past week, shooting at various locations in the city, including a crowded suburban train, a busy market and some popular eateries, pubs and clubs in south Mumbai, which the film's protagonist, slain journalist Daniel Pearl, used to frequent during his stay in India.

Jolie plays Pearl's wife Mariane in the film.

Pearl, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and murdered in Pakistan in 2002 while investigating Islamic militants in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in the US.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service