Viral video shows crowd in cinema hall pledging to boycott Muslims, draws flak
Vasai (Maharashtra) (PTI): A video, purportedly from Maharashtra’s Palghar district, showing people in a cinema hall chanting slogans and pledging to boycott Muslims socially and economically has triggered strong reactions.
Reacting to claims by a Congress MP that the viral video was shot in a cinema hall in Vasai on March 10, a senior police official from the Mira-Bhayandar Vasai-Virar (MBVV) Police Commissionerate told PTI on Tuesday that the veracity of the video is yet to be ascertained.
“We are not sure where it was shot and believe it could be mischief by some unscrupulous elements,” the police official said.
The MP claimed that the video shows a group of people taking the oath to boycott Muslims after watching the controversial film 'The Kerala Story 2'.
Syed Naseer Hussain, a Rajya Sabha member of the Congress, shared the video on X.
“In Vasai, Palghar, after a free screening of the film The Kerala Story on March 10, participants reportedly took a collective oath calling for the economic and social boycott of Muslims.
“The continued encouragement of propaganda-driven narratives under the BJP government has increasingly targeted Muslims and deepened communal polarisation. When cinema is deployed as a political instrument to stigmatise an entire community, it risks turning prejudice into organised discrimination and further emboldening anti-Muslim sentiment,” he said on X.
“India’s democratic ethos rests firmly on secularism, equality and fraternity. Calls for economic or social boycotts of any community strike at the very spirit of the Constitution of India and must be firmly rejected to preserve the plural and inclusive character of our Republic,” the MP said.
Another user @Nher_who posted on X: “In Vasai, Hindus took an oath to boycott Muslims economically & socially after watching Kerala Story. This was the only motive of the Movie which it has achieved.”
He said fuel and oil come from Muslim countries. Even maths has a Muslim contribution, he added. “Will they boycott petrol, diesel, and maths now?” he asked.
Since its release in 2023, The Kerala Story, and its sequel released in February this year, have been at the centre of intense political and cultural debate. Supporters claim the films expose uncomfortable truths, while critics argue that they exaggerate and promote divisive narratives.
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Guests attack bride, groom after not being served liquor at wedding in MP village
Gwalior (PTI): Upset at not being served liquor, a group of guests at a wedding in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district allegedly assaulted the bride, groom and their family members, police said.
Some members of the groom's family suffered injuries in the incident that occurred on Tuesday night in Patai village under the Aron police station area. The accused also allegedly stole household items and money during the assault, a police official said on Wednesday.
Local resident Mahesh Jatav was getting married when his neighbours demanded that they be served liquor during the celebration, which led to a dispute, City Superintendent of Police Manish Yadav told reporters.
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The groom’s refusal to provide or fund liquor at the wedding sparked a dispute that soon turned into a physical altercation between the two sides.
Ther groom's mother, Sheela, told reporters that after the bride arrived at their home, some rituals were underway when a few neighbours arrived there and began demanding money from her son for liquor.
When they were denied money to buy liquor, the neighbours beat up her family members, including the groom, she alleged.
As she tried to intervene, the neighbours also assaulted her, her husband, and the bride, Jatav's mother charged.
A probe was underway into the incident, the police said.
