Five people, including four members of the right wing outfits Karni Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), were reportedly arrested on Thursday for allegedly vandalising a rangoli inspired by Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati.
The police had filed an FIR on October 16 against a group of people for ruining artist Karan K’s rangoli depicting a poster of the film at a mall in Surat. Based on a video, which shows vandals shouting “Jai Shri Ram” as they damaged the art work, police arrested them.
Protesting against the movie #Padmavati, Rajput Karni Sena members rubbed out rangoli created for film’s promotion at a mall in Surat(16.10) pic.twitter.com/vbCGWHanQt
— ANI (@ANI) October 18, 2017
More arrests are likely to happen as the video footage recovered shows 8-10 people involved in the activity. Speaking to PTI News, Surat Commissioner of Police Satish Sharma said that the case will be dealt with utmost strictness.
“Freedom of expression is everyone’s right in a democracy, but vandalism will not be allowed,” he said.
Thus far, the people have been arrested under various sections of Indian Penal Code including 141, 149 (unlawful assembly), 451 (trespassing) and 427 (mischief causing damage).
On Tuesday, Deepika Padukone appealed to Union Minister Smriti Irani to take action against those who vandalised the art that took 48 hours to make. The artist himself shared two photographs on social media. In one image, he can be seen making a rangoli inspired by the poster of the film, while the other shows the artwork completely vandalised by attackers.
#padmavati Rangoli Controversy!
A crowd of 100 people cried JAY SRI RAM AND rubbed out my 48hrs’ intense work! Shocked!@RanveerOfficial pic.twitter.com/0yWbE7Jqfa— KARAN K. (@KARANK19522136) October 16, 2017
Padmavati also features Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
Recommended
In the film, Deepika plays the role of Rajput queen Padmini, while Shahid will be seen as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer will essay the role of Alauddin Khilji.
During its production, the film witnessed many ups and downs.
Earlier this year, activists of Shri Rajput Karni Sena assaulted Bhansali and vandalised the movie’s Jaipur set over alleged distortions in the film’s script.
They were forced to move to Maharashtra to continue shooting. Still, an outdoor set of the historic period drama in Kolhapur was burnt down after two dozen unidentified people torched it.
The Shri Rajput Karni Sena has maintained it will oppose screening of the film if the facts are “distorted”.
Padmavati, presented by Viacom18 Motion Pictures and Bhansali Productions, is set for a December 1 release.
(With inputs from IANS)