Padmaavat protests reach Delhi’s doors, DND toll vandalised

GURGAON/NOIDA: Protests against the release of controversial movie Padmaavat reached NCR as 15 people were arrested after the DND toll plaza in Noida was vandalised by people claiming to be from Shri Rajput Karni Sena and other fringe groups.

In Gurgaon, several rallies and protests were organised by the group’s members who burnt effigies of the movie’s producer-director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

The incident took place when the supporters of many fringe groups were heading towards the malls in Noida to protest the release of the movie in the multiplexes there. When intercepted by Noida Police, the crowd disbanded into groups and around 150-200 of them headed towards the DND Flyway. These protesters then proceeded to create ruckus at the now-defunct toll plaza of the Delhi-noida-direct Flyway at around 3pm on Sunday, Noida officials said.

“We have arrested 15 persons for vandalism which took place at the DND toll plaza. These men from various fringe groups like Bajrang Dal, Karni Sena, Kshatriya Sena, Hindu Vahini and many others were armed and were in their personal cars and bikes,” said Arun Kumar Singh, superintendent of police (city).

In Gurgaon, the protestors blocked traffic at Sohna Road and MG Road around noon, officials said.

“We visited all the cinema halls on MG Road and Sohna Road. We handed them a memorandum asking them not to screen the movie Padmaavat. It was a peaceful protest as we wanted to put our point across that we will not allow the movie to be screened in Gurgaon,” said Jitender Singh Chauhan, who claimed to be the national executive member of the Karni Sena.

“If the movie is screened at Gurgaon theatres, we will intensify our protest. On Sunday, there were only 800 of us, but if the movie is shown then we will gather over 5,000 protestors. Bhansali has distorted historical facts in the movie, which is unacceptable,” said Devender Raghav, district president of Karni Sena from Bhondsi.

Founder-patron of Karni Sena, Lokendra Singh Kalvi, said, “I don’t endorse the vandalism that took place at DND flyway, but authorities need to understand why this happened. Why is nobody blaming Bhansali for creating such a mess by provoking people through his movie?”

Kalvi said he would be heading to Delhi on Monday to look into the incidents. He is also likely to meet Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and other senior politicians.

“I am coming to Delhi and will also be going to Lucknow as we want all the states to support us in getting this movie banned,” added Kalvi.