Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A reading session of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai’s memoir ‘I Am Malala’ descended into violence in Ahmedabad after a group claiming affiliation with the Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) confronted participants at Vastrapur Garden, police said on Friday.
Three people have been arrested in connection with the incident, while an FIR has been registered against around 20 persons.
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The gathering was organised by members associated with Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and Congress workers following a recent controversy over Yousafzai’s books at a private school in the city.
Nearly 20 people, including women, had assembled at the public garden for the reading session on Thursday evening.
According to Vastrapur police station Inspector GM Chaudhary, a group of around 18-20 people arrived as the participants were leaving the venue and questioned them over their decision to read ‘I Am Malala’.
The confrontation escalated into a scuffle, during which two people were injured. Police said the attackers were carrying sticks.
“An FIR has been registered, and two of the accused were known to the victims. Apart from them, six individuals have been identified, and three have already been arrested,” Chaudhary said.
Visuals of the incident showed a large crowd gathered outside the venue, with heated exchanges and people pushing and jostling.
Other footage shot inside the garden appeared to show participants surrounded by several people during the confrontation, with some individuals being assisted after the scuffle.
A case has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to rioting, unlawful assembly and causing physical pain.
The incident follows protests over the inclusion of books by Yousafzai and Holocaust survivor Anne Frank in the mandatory reading list of a private Ahmedabad school.
The school subsequently removed the books after objections from right-wing groups.
Bajrang Dal leader Jwalit Mehta defended the opposition to Yousafzai’s memoir, alleging that her position on Kashmir made the book unacceptable.
“Malala’s book should not be read because she considers Kashmir a part of Pakistan. Such a person will be labelled anti-national, so we will stop those who read the book of an anti-national person”.
“Bajrang Dal activists warned that even if Malala was a Nobel Prize winner, they would never allow books written by anti-Hindu and anti-India elements to be read,” he added, maintaining that the organisation would continue raising objections to material it considers anti-national in educational institutions.
Organisers, however, accused the attackers of arriving with the intention of violence.
Social activist Subodh Parmar alleged, “We weren’t doing anything against any government; we were just discussing reading a book. These people came and started threatening us. They demanded we take off our pants and tell us if we were Muslim”.
Police are now examining the available video footage and statements from those present as part of the investigation.
The arrests and identification of additional suspects are expected to determine the sequence of events and the role of those involved.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
