It is tricky to imagine Valentine's Day celebrations in Ahmedabad with out Bajrang Dal members taking part in spoilsport and police officers remaining mute spectators. On Thursday, Bajrang Dal members swooped down on the Sabarmati Riverfront and shooed away couples celebrating the competition of love. And the police remained lacking in action until the couples went helter-skelter.
While Bajrang Dal never wishes any "permission" from the police officers to threaten children on the day, paradoxically, a 30-year-old man who wanted to distribute roses among visitors on the Riverfront Park as a gesture of humanity and brotherhood used to be denied permission to do so by way of the police.
Ravindra, who got rid of his surname and calls himself Bharatiya, wanted to unfold some love and cheer in the society whose wrath he confronted after marrying a lady from some other caste. However, the police refused to give him permission claiming it would create legislation and order drawback when a selected team threatens children.
Anticipating activism by way of Bajrang Dal, police had larger patrolling on the riverfront. But, instead of stopping hooliganism by way of its members, police officers averted couples from getting into the Usmanpura garden on the riverfront. All the while, Bajrang Dal activists allotted pamphlets to the couples "sensitising" them to the western thought of love and "Love Jihad ".
Riverfront West police later detained 10 members of Bajrang Dal, however the damage used to be accomplished by way of then.
Krishna Patil (20), a TY pupil, "There is no reason to carry out such protests on Valentine's Day and oppose it. The Bajrang Dal activists seem jobless and it looks like they have a lot of time to make hue and cry."
Zone 1 DCP, Jaypalsinh Rathod stated, "It would be wrong to say that Bajrang Dal entered the premises. We took them in custody when they came for the protest. Commuters' entry was not blocked, I visited twice. Police was there from 8 am. Everyone was allowed to enter the park. We can't detain anyone from home, but when they came we took them in custody."
Bharatiya fulfils his want
In the evening, when the melee used to be over, Bharatiya and his spouse Shilpi, 28, allotted roses a few of the other people on the riverfront. Talking to Mirror
, Bharatiya stated, "My wife Shilpi and I have faced humiliation in the past at riverfront by Bajrang Dal activists. They harass and beat up couples. Why don't the police detain them? My plan was to distribute roses to couples and the elderly and gift them a picture of Gautam Buddha. It was an expression of love and warmth."
Bharatiya, a computer engineer, claimed he had been visiting the police commissioner's place of job for 10 days however used to be not granted permission. On the other hand, Bajrang Dal activists created ruckus at Riverfront Park close to Usmanpura, forcing couples to leave the spot . So Bharatiya came to the Riverfront Park together with his spouse and pals to distribute roses to the people.
Shilpi stated, "I had to leave my job after the inter-caste marriage. I also faced a lot of trouble from the society. I was told that if I wanted to do activism and social service, I should leave the job and sit at home. The colleagues told me they feared landing in police trouble."
Cops say it used to be for legislation and order
Additional Commissioner of Police Vipul Agrawal stated, "The DCP, the traffic police, the local police gave an opinion that giving permission for this act on such a day will not be in the interest of law and order. I respect the opinion of my men on the field and signed the order. One can distribute roses on several other days. Such acts on a day when one section of the society believes the day is celebrated due to western influence can lead to law and order problems."
Inputs by way ofLakshmi Patel and Mihir Ved
While Bajrang Dal never wishes any "permission" from the police officers to threaten children on the day, paradoxically, a 30-year-old man who wanted to distribute roses among visitors on the Riverfront Park as a gesture of humanity and brotherhood used to be denied permission to do so by way of the police.
Ravindra, who got rid of his surname and calls himself Bharatiya, wanted to unfold some love and cheer in the society whose wrath he confronted after marrying a lady from some other caste. However, the police refused to give him permission claiming it would create legislation and order drawback when a selected team threatens children.
Action replay
Anticipating activism by way of Bajrang Dal, police had larger patrolling on the riverfront. But, instead of stopping hooliganism by way of its members, police officers averted couples from getting into the Usmanpura garden on the riverfront. All the while, Bajrang Dal activists allotted pamphlets to the couples "sensitising" them to the western thought of love and "
Riverfront West police later detained 10 members of Bajrang Dal, however the damage used to be accomplished by way of then.
Krishna Patil (20), a TY pupil, "There is no reason to carry out such protests on Valentine's Day and oppose it. The Bajrang Dal activists seem jobless and it looks like they have a lot of time to make hue and cry."
Zone 1 DCP, Jaypalsinh Rathod stated, "It would be wrong to say that Bajrang Dal entered the premises. We took them in custody when they came for the protest. Commuters' entry was not blocked, I visited twice. Police was there from 8 am. Everyone was allowed to enter the park. We can't detain anyone from home, but when they came we took them in custody."
Bharatiya fulfils his want
In the evening, when the melee used to be over, Bharatiya and his spouse Shilpi, 28, allotted roses a few of the other people on the riverfront. Talking to Mirror
, Bharatiya stated, "My wife Shilpi and I have faced humiliation in the past at riverfront by Bajrang Dal activists. They harass and beat up couples. Why don't the police detain them? My plan was to distribute roses to couples and the elderly and gift them a picture of Gautam Buddha. It was an expression of love and warmth."
Bharatiya, a computer engineer, claimed he had been visiting the police commissioner's place of job for 10 days however used to be not granted permission. On the other hand, Bajrang Dal activists created ruckus at Riverfront Park close to Usmanpura, forcing couples to leave the spot . So Bharatiya came to the Riverfront Park together with his spouse and pals to distribute roses to the people.
Shilpi stated, "I had to leave my job after the inter-caste marriage. I also faced a lot of trouble from the society. I was told that if I wanted to do activism and social service, I should leave the job and sit at home. The colleagues told me they feared landing in police trouble."
Cops say it used to be for legislation and order
Additional Commissioner of Police Vipul Agrawal stated, "The DCP, the traffic police, the local police gave an opinion that giving permission for this act on such a day will not be in the interest of law and order. I respect the opinion of my men on the field and signed the order. One can distribute roses on several other days. Such acts on a day when one section of the society believes the day is celebrated due to western influence can lead to law and order problems."
Inputs by way of
Love triumphs hooliganism on V-Day
![Love triumphs hooliganism on V-Day]()
Reviewed by Kailash
on
February 15, 2019
Rating:
