Bajrang Dal activists blacken faces of sculptors from Bengal for alleged objectionable Ganesha idols

Activists of the Bajrang Dal blackened the faces of three sculptors from West Bengal, outside a police station in Indore, as the right-wing Hindu outfit members were enraged at the sculptors for making idols of Lord Ganesha, alleged to be objectionable and insulting, for the upcoming Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

The police also registered an FIR against the three sculptors on the complaint lodged by the Bajrang Dal on charges of hurting religious sentiments.

Advertisement

According to the police, the FIR has been registered at the Khajrana police station against Ratanlal Pal, Raju Pal, and Chandranath Pal today. They have been booked under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita’s Section 299, which pertains to a deliberate act intended to outrage religious feelings, said the police.

As per Indore Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Amrendra Singh, a Bajrang Dal activist had complained that objectionable idols of Lord Ganesha were being made at the Bengali Square in the Khajrana area, and on the basis of that, the police registered an FIR against the sculptors from West Bengal.

Meanwhile, a video showed Bajrang Dal activists blackening the faces of the three sculptors outside the police station.

Bajrang Dal Indore district convener Lucky Raghuvanshi said some members of the Hindu community blackened the sculptors’ faces to protest the idol designs.

Raghuvanshi claimed that one idol depicted Lord Ganesha walking a fashion ramp like a model, while another showed him lifting a woman in his arms.

Sources citing another sculptor, Atul Pal, said that the idols in such designs were ordered by some customers from Dewas. He informed that the said customers had cancelled the designs, after the controversy, and placed fresh orders for Ganesha idols in traditional styles only.

It was not yet known whether police also took any action on those who blackened the faces of the three sculptors.