The city police booked six Bajrang Dal activists on charges of vandalising the venue of an entertainment programme at Maroli in Mangaluru on Sunday, March 26.
Police said that the six accused were opposed to the holding of “Rang Barse” programme in Maroli and identified them as Ganesh Attavar, Jai Prashanth, Balachander, Akshay, Chirag and Mithun.
The programme was scheduled between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. and it began around noon. Around 2 p.m., the men reached the venue and had a heated exchange with the organisers. They said that they would not allow such a programme to continue.
Bajrang Dal activists had a heated exchange with the organisers of the programme, and vandalised the venue at Maroli in Mangaluru on Sunday, March 26. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
In a video of the altercation that has gone viral, a Bajrang Dal member is heard saying, “We have told you to stop the programme in nice words. But, you are not listening. Do not bring names of Member of Parliament and MLAs here. We will take action to stop the programme.” The activists then damaged posters and flexes of the event displayed outside the venue and also brought down some publicity materials.
The local Kankanady Town police rushed to the venue and took the men to custody. On a complaint by the organiser, the police also registered a case against the six activists.
Police Commissioner Kuldeep Kumar R. Jain said the city police had given permission to the organiser to hold the event by imposing several conditions. “If anybody is opposed to the event, a complaint should have been filed with the police. Instead, the group took law into their hands,” Mr. Jain said. The police is doing further investigation of the incident, he added.
