The run up to the release of the much-hyped Vijay starrer Puli was marred by stray incidents of stone-pelting by the actor’s fans and mild lathicharge by the police on Thursday.
The movie was slated to be screened in three movie halls here, as the cinema halls in Hosur had a run-in with the pricing of the film. Therefore, Vijay fans from across the district, as far off from Denkanikottai, Anjetty, Kelamangalam and Hosur had already reached Krishnagiri on the eve of the release of the movie, forcing the police to place pickets in the movie halls.
However, in a pre-dawn drama, Vijay fans that had already converged in the cinema halls here before midnight became restive after the first show that was slated to be screened before 6 a.m. got delayed with the non-receipt of clearance for the screening. As rumours floated that the movie would not be released as stated, the edgy crowd indulged in stray stone-pelting breaking windows of the theatres, before marching to the Chennai-Krishnagiri road to stage a road blockade. However, the police cracked down on the protesters. In the melee that ensued, the mob pelted stones and hurled slippers on the police, causing tense situation before it was brought under control.
