Fringe runs riot ahead of Padmaavat release
TENSION MOUNTS 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.