Fringe runs riot ahead of Padmaavat release
Protesters go on rampage across states, school bus vandalised in Gurgaon
NEWDELHI/JAIPUR/AHMEDABAD/LUCKNOW: Protesters stepped up their campaign against period drama Padmaavat on Wednesday, a day ahead of its nationwide release, prompting theatre owners in several states to hold off from screening the movie.
Acts of vandalism were reported from states including Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana following overnight protests and arson in Gujarat. State police chiefs promised increased protection for cinema halls on Thursday but the movie will not be screened in the BJP-ruled states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Goa, the Multiplex Association of India said. The protests are being spearheaded by Rajput groups and their allies unhappy with the depiction of legendary queen Padmini in the movie.
Just 15 kms away from the national capital, a Haryana Roadways bus carrying 25 passengers was burnt by about 50-60 protesters. Stones were thrown at a school bus in Gurgaon, leading to minor injuries to some students, the police said.
The Congress termed the attack on the school bus as “reprehensible” and “devastating” and attacked the Haryana government for the “deteriorating law and order situation”.
Police arrested 24 persons for the violence and several schools in the NCR said they will remain shut on Thursday. The spree of incidents also included a youth’s attempt to immolate himself in Lucknow, road and rail traffic blockages in Jaipur and Mathura, burning of vehicles Bhopal, and stone-pelting in Etawah and Meerut. Police resorted to lathi-charges in Lucknow and Indore.
Lokendra Singh Kalvi, chief of the Shri Rajput Karni Sena that has emerged at the forefront of the protests, blamed Padmaavat producer Sanjay Leela Bhansali for the violence.
KARNAL/ROHTAK/HISAR : Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) were imposed around cinema halls in at least 12 districts of the state on Wednesday a day ahead of the release of controversial movie Padmaavat after protests by the Rajput community.
The districts where the orders, prohibiting an assembly of more than four people in an area, have been issued are Rohtak, Gurgaon, Rewari, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Hisar, Palwal and Faridabad.
More districts are likely to follow suit.
Even as police have been deployed outside main theatres in all districts, owners of multiplexes are reluctant to screen the movie raising security concerns.
Cinema halls in Bhiwani, Re war ia nd Ma hen drag a rh have decided not to screen the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed film after protests by the Rajput community in these districts.
The three districts have one cinema hall each. In Rohtak, the film is set to release in at least five cinema halls. The administration has also imposed the prohibitory orders around cinema halls and barred use of any type of weapons. In Sonepat, the administration has designated duty magistrates at every block to check any untoward incident.
Brijesh Mohan, operations manager of Super Mall, Karnal, which houses a multiplex, said, “We have decided not to screen the movie in our theatre. The decision was taken unanimously and we will not hurt sentiments of anybody.”
Kurukshetra deputy commissioner Aditya Dahiya said the district administration will follow the Supreme Court’ s order to ensure security at theatres. In Kurukshetra, the owner of the multiplex at a shopping mall, which was vandalised by suspected members of the Karni Sena on January 21, was also reluctant to screen the movie. The police have detained nearly 10 persons suspecting their involvement in the incident.
“We have not received confirmation from our management yet,” multiplex manager Sudhir Kumar said. The multiplex had earlier decided to screen a pre- mier esho won Wednesday evening but they did not get permission from the district authorities. “Yes, we had decided to screen a premiere show but the authorities told us that the movie could only be screened after its release on January 25 as per the SC orders,” Kumar said.
Kurukshetra DC Sumedha Kataria said the district administration will provide security to theatres as per the SC order. “We have asked them (theatres) to give details and timings of shows, which we have not got yet,” Kataria said.
Bhupinder Raghav, vice-president, Rajput Karni Sena (Haryana), said, “We have requested all Karni Sena members to protest peacefully in the state. We will not go against the law.”
ACTIVISTS COURT ARREST INF A RID A BAD
In Faridabad, security has been tightened around cinema halls. The activists of the Akhil Bharatiya Kshtrya Mahasabha held protest demonstration in Faridabad on Wednesday outside SRS mall in Sector 12 against screening of Padmavat. The activists later courted arrest who were boarded in police buses and later released.
The activists also called on owners of some malls and presented them roses to express their reservation on screening of the controversial film on Thursday.