Goons brazenly defy SC diktat, go on rampage

NEW DELHI: Protests and violence spread across six states over the release of "Padmaavat" on Wednesday evening as groups like Karni Sena, which vowed to block the film in defiance of Supreme Court orders, hit the streets. A school bus was attacked and a bus torched in Gurgaon, the Delhi-Jaipur Highway and other roads were blocked in Rajasthan and markets were shut in pockets of Uttar Pradesh. Protests took place in Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and also Gujarat, which witnessed violence on Tuesday. The Karni Sena has asked social organisations across the country to ensure that the movie can't be screened.

The Multiplex Association of India said on Wednesday its members would not screen the period drama in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Goa.

The decision of the association, which represents about 75 per cent of the multiplex owners in the country, came as a big blow to Padmaavat makers.

In Rajasthan, distributors refused to screen "Padmaavat" citing the protests. Besides Delhi-Jaipur highway, traffic was hit on Delhi-Ajmer highway as protesters burnt tyres. In Sikar, a bus was stoned. The Chittor Fort was shut down for the second time in its centuries-old history after Karni Sena members tried to break in.

In Haryana's Gurgaon, protesters attacked a school bus and torched a state transport bus, and blocked roads. Many cinema hall owners have said they will not screen the film.

In Indore district of Madhya Pradesh, nearly 200 protesters blocked the National Highway 3, which links Agra and Mumbai. The police said the protesters broke glass bottles to stop traffic movement on the road. Around 50 Karni Sena activists also burnt an effigy of Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film's director.

In Lucknow, protests were held outside a mall. Claiming they do not belong to any organisation, the protesters said if hall owners don't agree to their "request" and stop screening the movie, they would "anything that is required". In Etawah, police lathi-charged protesters who damaged vehicles and forced shops to shut down. Several vehicle owners were injured.

In Mumbai, the police arrested 30 Karni Sena workers as a preventive measure; 44 others were arrested in Gujarat capital Ahmedabad.

Karni Sena chief Lokendra Singh Kalvi said the Rajput organisation won't allow the release of the film. "January 25 may come and go but we won't let the film release, come what may," he said. Protests against the film had turned increasingly violent from Tuesday evening, with arson and vandalism reported from Ahmedabad and parts of Uttar Pradesh.

On Wednesday, 50 people were arrested in connection with the violence in Ahmedabad, where the police had to open fire on Tuesday night as a mob burnt nearly two-wheelers and smashed shop windows outside malls.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court turned down a last-ditch attempt by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments to ban the movie. "It's an order, better abide by it," the judges said.