Even as Sanjay Leela Bhansali prepares to release his magnum opus Padmaavat on Thursday, 25 January, protests across the country by the Karni Sena intensified on Wednesday – this despite the Supreme Court’s reiteration on Tuesday to maintain law and order.
Karni Sena Chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi on Wednesday said that the Rajput group was still unhappy with the film, demanding it be banned.
We are adamant on our stand that this film Padmaavat should be banned, there should be a self-imposed curfew by people.Lokendra Singh Kalvi, Karni Sena Chief
Tickets Counter Vandalised in Jammu
As protests speeded up against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat on Wednsday, the rampage found its way till Jammu, as ticket counters of one Indra cinema in the city were vandalised, according to the eyewitnesses, the protestors raised slogans against Padmaavat.
25 Vehicles Torched in Ahmedabad, Gujarat
At least 25 vehicles were set on fire by protesting groups in Ahmedabad on Tuesday evening, over the film’s release.
The protest, which initially started out as a silent march in Gandhinagar, turned violent after agitated members pelted stones at a cinema hall, and set vehicles parked nearby on fire.
The protesters then moved to Himalaya Mall on Drive-In Road and torched vehicles parked outside. Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police, AK Singh, said legal action will be taken against the protesters.
The police resorted to firing in the air in order to disperse the mob.
In Rajkot, people reportedly attempted to stop a train in Devbhumi. All travel in the district will remain closed from 6 am to 9 pm on Thursday.
On Wednesday, over 30 people were arrested from Mumbai and 45 persons from Ahmedabad were detained in connection with the riots.
Gurugram Becomes the Centre of Protests in Haryana
Protests broke out in Gurugram’s Sohna Road on Wednesday. Protesting goons hurled petrol bombs, torched buses, vandalised public property and pelted stones at Sohna Road in protest against the movie’s release.
Protesters had earlier taken to blocking roads in Gurugram by barricading them with burning tyres. The Wazirpur-Pataudi road became a playground for protesters.
The police has imposed Section 144 in the district, in view of the continued protests. People carrying weapons or ‘any other destructive materials’ have been banned within a 200 metre-radius of a cinema hall.
The protests have reached the national capital. As a school bus was dropping students back home, the bus was subjected to the violence caused by the protestors who were protesting against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat.
In a video found on twitter, fearful students of GD Goenka school, Gurugram are seen crouching under the seats of the school bus in order to avoid getting hurt. In the video, the windows of the bus are seen broken, probably from the stone pelting by the goons protesting against the release of the movie.
Outbursts in Uttar Pradesh
Multiple instances of protests were reported from Uttar Pradesh, with the police tightening security all over the state ahead of the film’s release.
In Mathura, agitators stopped trains at the Bhuteshwar railway station, with the police coming down hard on the protesting mob.
In Lucknow, the police have taken to tightening their forces outside cinema halls like ‘Waves’ to prevent any untoward incidents of violence from occurring.
In Agra and Hathras too protests were held by groups unhappy with the content of the film. In Barabanki town, Muslims protested against the movie's release and burnt an effigy of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and its posters.
Protestors also vandalised a cinema hall in Hapur.
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