AHMEDABAD: Hundreds of protesters went on a rampage vandalising malls andtorching cars in the Indian city of Ahmedabad in a bid to stop the releaseof a controversial Bollywood film scheduled for Thursday.
Violence against Padmaavat, a film about a mythical Hindu queen, startedlate Tuesday and went into the night in the main city of Prime MinisterNarendra Modi´s home state of Gujarat.
Several hundred people attacked shops in malls and set alight 50motorcycles and damaged more than 150 cars across the city, police said.
Gujarat home minister Pradipsinh Jadeja said 10 people were arrested onTuesday, taking overall detentions caused by the movie to more than 60 in48 hours.
Police said the names of more than 500 suspects for rioting and unlawfulassembly had been registered across Gujarat.
“These are anti-social elements who are attempting to disrupt the peace inthe state. They will be dealt with strictly,” Jadeja told journalists.
Threats by Hindu fringe groups against Padmaavathave forced police to stepup security around cinemas across the country ahead of the release Thursday.
Protesters claim the film falsely depicts a romance between 14th centuryHindu queen Padmavati and Muslim ruler Alauddin Khilji. The producers denythis and insist the movie portrays her respectfully.
Radical groups have blocked roads and burned buses and toll booths inrecent days in protests against the movie.
A caste-based group, the Rajput Karni Sena, has threatened to attackcinemas showing the film. It was not known if they were linked to theAhmedabad troubles.
“We have increased deployment near malls and cinema halls. The mob resortedto violence despite the cinema hall owners assuring that they will notscreen Padmaavat,” Ahmedabad police commissioner AK Singh told media.
The Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh state governments lost a bid on Tuesday toget the country’s Supreme Court to retract its ruling stopping states frombanning Padmaavat.
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and other states had wanted to halt therelease. But the Supreme Court has ruled such action violated creativefreedoms.
In January, last year, Rajput Karni Sena members attacked the film´sdirector Sanjay Leela Bhansali and vandalised the set during filming inRajasthan.
The leader of the group also offered 50 million rupees ($769,000) to anyonewho “beheaded” lead actress Deepika Padukone or director Bhansali.
The movie stars Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh, the husband ofPadmavati, and Ranveer Singh as Khilji who leads an invasion to try tocapture the queen.
Protesters maintain it distorts history, even though experts say the queenis a mythical character.
Earlier this month the film censor board cleared Padmaavatfor release withfive changes. AGENCIES