Afternoon stops printing after CEO is sacked

Dispute over ownership the cause; refusal to carry corrigendum the precipitator.

Mumbai-based tabloid Afternoon Despatch & Courier has stopped printing since Thursday after a public spat between Kamal Morarka, chairman of the 22-year-old paper, and the CEO, Farzana Contractor.

Contractor was dismissed by Morarka on Thursday. On Wednesday, she had written an emotional article against the chairman, which went as the cover story of the paper.

In the article titled "It's a sad day", Contractor wrote about the tussle over the ownership of the paper, which she said had been brewing for over 10 years now.

Morarka had given money to Farzana's late husband Behram to start the paper. Though the money was re-paid in two years, the shares of the company were never transferred in the name of the Contractors, the article said.

"The money was a loan and was repaid over time. But it was a forgotten fact, and that the shares did not come our way was a tragedy. But that was Behram. He did not fight for what was his right, not even when he learnt how we were cleverly put in a corner, as minority shareholders with absolutely no rights," she said.

Morarka, however, disputed this and said, "Our company did not loan her any amount at any point of time."

In her article, Contractor also said Morarka asked her to issue a corrigendum after she was referred to as the editor of the paper in one of the pictures published a week ago.

When the corrigendum did not appear, Morarka sent her a letter demanding her resignation for disobeying the chairman. A day later, another missive followed, which said Contractor should either carry the corrigendum or the board would take over the newspaper.

Contractor said, "What has happened is terrible and I am in no state to make a statement right now." She added that she was in touch with her lawyer.

When contacted, Morarka said the management of Afternoon planned to resume printing of the paper by bringing in an editor. "The company has dismissed Contractor from her services as she was not performing. Her designation was that of a CEO and not an editor."

Contractor said, "On Monday morning, four unknown men stormed into the office "" in my absence "" armed with a circular from the chairman which said they were the new management and took charge."

Behram Contractor had started the paper in 1985, and wrote a column under the pseudonym 'Busybee'. It remained one of the most widely-read columns in Mumbai for a long time.