Adilabad: Ganesh idol immersion halted for three hours over police restrictions

Ganesh idol immersion was halted for about three hours at Ambedkar Chowk in Adilabad on Saturday after organisers and religious groups protested against alleged police restrictions on DJs. The protest ended after Collector Rajarshi Shah assured them of an inquiry.

Adilabad: Organisers of Ganesh pandals and members of various religious organizations staged a sit-in on a road and halted the Ganesh idol immersion protesting against the stance of SP Akhil Mahajan at Ambedkar Chowk here early on Saturday morning.

Led by local MLA Payal Shankar’s brother Sharath, hundreds of organizers alleged that police threatened them by turning off street lights and grabbing mobile phones for using DJs during immersion of the idols in Ashok Road at night. Some of them claimed that their music systems were taken away by the police.

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Meanwhile, religious organizations raised objections to restrictions over usage of DJs imposed by the police. They accused police of resorting to lathi-charging against members of a band at night. They called for bandh of commercial establishments. Immersion of the idols was stopped in protest of the stance of the police at 6 am.

Consequently, the procession of the idols came to a grinding halt for about three hours, causing inconvenience to devotees. The organizers and right-wing activists did not withdraw the protest after Shankar, DSP L Jeevan Reddy and Additional Collector Rajeshwar tried to pacify them. They insisted on SP to inaugurate the procession by breaking a coconut, resulting in a mild tension for a while.

Sensing trouble, police forces were deployed at the junction and authorities held consultations with organizers and members of the Utsava committee. The organisers and members withdrew their protest after the Collector Rajarshi Shah intervened and assured them of action against responsible police by conducting an inquiry. They resumed the procession and the issue was resolved.