The Shiv Sena on Wednesday took upon itself the mantle of a self-appointed moral police and went around city parks beating up all couples in any form of a huddle to celebrate the Valentine’s Day. And, the police preferred to watch.
No one was injured in the half a dozen scuffles that took place in several city parks on Wednesday. It can be mentioned that Lucknow SSP Rajiv Krishna had claimed a few days ago that there will be adequate arrangements to prevent any hooliganism. But Wednesday proved there was no meat to his claim.
However, SP (West) Umesh Kumar Srivastava said, “We have not received any complaint from anybody regarding harassment. Action will be taken if any complaint trickles in.”
It all began around 1 pm when a group of young men, claiming allegiance to the Shiv Sena, reached the Hazratganj crossing. They burnt cards and posters and also raised slogans against the Valentine’s Day practice. “We will not let anyone sell these cards or celebrate Valentine’s Day,” they shouted. Their raison d’etre — Valentine’s Day is not a part of Indian culture and therefore, it should not be celebrated. Speaking to Newsline, state senior worker Shiv Sena, Jaydev Verma said, “These Western gimmicks are corrupting our kids and alienating them from our roots.”
Sena supporters then dispersed to other parts of the city to carry on with their mission. A group on motorcycles reached Begam Hazratganj Mahal Park. There they misbehaved with young boys and girls. Some of them were even “punished” by Sena men.
Later, workers of Shiv Sena went to the Kuria Ghat Park, Residency and Haati Park and misbehaved with youngsters there. Interestingly, police were present everywhere and did not budge to help the harassed youngsters.
When contacted, IG (Lucknow zone) Chavinath Singh said he had received only one complaint in the afternoon. A team was rushed to the site but the Sena men managed to escape. “An order has been passed to immediately take action against all those caught creating ruckus in the city,” Singh said.
However, SP (East) Sadhna Goswami claimed no incident occurred in her jurisdiction. “Workers came on motorcycles, burnt cards and posters and went away,” she said. Lucknow SSP Rajiv Krishna was not available for comment.