Messages against 'Padmavati' found near body of man at Rajasthan fort

Several messages against “Padmavati” found scribbled on rocks near body.

The body of a 40-year-old man found hanging from the parapet of the Nahargarh Fort near here on Friday created a flutter as it was accompanied by messages purportedly against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmavati . The messages were scribbled on the rocks and stones nearby. The deceased was identified as Chetan Saini on the basis of an Aadhaar card found in his pocket.

The messages, written in Hindi with charcoal, read: ‘ Hum sirf putley nahi jalatey , latkatey hain’  (‘we don’t just burn effigies, we hang them’) and ‘Padmavati  ka virodh ’ (‘against Padmavati’). The police have not ruled out the possibility of a foul play and have sent the body for a post-mortem.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Jaipur North) Satyendra Singh said an investigation was on to find out if the death was a suicide or murder. “We are examining whose handwriting it is and who wrote the slogans,” he said. A forensic team also gathered evidence from the spot.

File photo of Nahargarh Fort

Mr. Saini, a resident of Shastri Nagar here, ran a small jewellery and handicrafts business from his home. Police said he had left home on Thursday afternoon and last spoken to his wife in the evening. His family has denied that he was involved in any occult practices.

‘We are not involved’

The Shri Rajput Karni Sena, which has been spearheading a campaign against the film Padmavati  with the demand for a ban on its release, distanced itself from the incident. Karni Sena’s Rajasthan unit president Mahipal Singh Makrana said the outfit had nothing to do with it. “This is not the way of the Karni Sena’s protest,” he said.

Karni Sena founder-patron Lokendra Singh Kalvi described Mr. Saini’s death as “regrettable” and said that it should not have happened.