Padmaavat: Authorities in Gurgaon banned gatherings within 200 metre radius of cinema halls
A protest against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Padmavat in Gujarat turned violent on Tuesday evening when groups of people vandalized shops at a mall and a cinema hall in Ahmedabad.
Nearly a dozen two-wheelers, many of them belonging to a fast-food chain were gutted by the protestors. The police had to fire two shots in the air to disperse the mob.
In Haryana's Gurgaon, the district authorities have banned protests or large gatherings within a 200-meter radius of cinema halls under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code.
Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria declared that the state was left with no option but to maintain law and order. In Haryana's Gurgaon, the district authorities have banned protests or large gatherings within a 200-meter radius of cinema halls under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code.
Maharashtra minister Jaykumar Rawal appealed to people not to watch the film because, as the filmmaker had tampered with history to earn money. While on the other hand, Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, according to a news agency, said most theatre owners in the state had voluntarily decided not to screen the controversial movie.
"We had put up boards saying we won't screen the film.Still, the mall was attacked by a horde of men," the mall manager Rakesh Mehta said, according to the news agency.
"They tore film posters, damaged property and manhandled the mall staff," a police officer in Kanpur told news agency.
A top Mumbai police official said makers of the film Monday approached the police, seeking security at multiplexes where the Sanjay Leela Bhansali-directed period drama will open on January 25.
Police personnel will be stationed at cinemas from January 24 to 26 to ensure the film releases smoothly and any attempt to disrupt its screening is foiled in Mumbai, he said.
-PTC News
