Muslim couple threatened, prevented from watching ‘Kantara’ in Karnataka

Mysuru: A Muslim couple was threatened and prevented from watching the film, Kantara, at Sullia in Dakshina Kannada district on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

According to eyewitnesses, the couple, both college students belonging to Kerala and studying in KVG institutions, came to watch the film at Santhosh theatre. Seeing the girl’s hijab, a nearby shopkeeper alerted Muslim youth who came and questioned the couple for watching the movie.

The boy was assaulted by the group for watching Kantara, which, according to the complaint, the attackers said was supporting Hindu culture. Later the couple returned from the theatre without watching the movie.

“We have received information through social media. The couple didn’t file a complaint, but we tracked them down and asked them to file a complaint. Based on their complaint, we have registered an FIR and we are on the lookout for the suspect,” said Dileep Rai, sub-inspector of Sulia police station.

The FIR has been registered under sections 341 (wrongful restraint), 323 (assault), 504 (intentional insults) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

“No one has the right to deny fundamental rights to a person for any reason. We have launched search to nab the group which assaulted the boy,” Rai added.

In another incident, Malavalli town police in Mandya district registered a complaint against a woman for allegedly imitating Daiva Nartakaand and collecting money from devotees. In a complaint, S Puneet Kumar, a resident of Malavalli town, said that the woman, Shivalingamma, was doing pooja at her home for three years on Kanakapura road.

After the release of the movie Kantara, the woman started imitating the movie hero recreating the scream, which is revered as a sigh of the presence of god by some communities in coastal Karnataka. The complaint stated that the woman collected gold and cash from devotees claiming to invoke god inside herself.

“We have received a complaint from one person alleging that the woman imitating like Kantara movie and collecting money, and gold from devotees. We have summoned the woman to the police station for questioning. She said she is doing pooja every Monday and Friday at her home for three years for the well-being of devotees,’’ Malavalli town police station inspector B Rajesh said.

If any other person who lost the money or gold gives a complaint, police will register an FIR, he added.

“The crowd of devotees started swelling after the release of the film Kantara as the woman imitating the hero through a divine scream. The woman announces the time in the previous day that god invoked her,‘’ S Puneet Kumar the complainant said.

He said that the woman claiming invoked god demanding devotees to donate gold mangal sutra and cash to god, promising god would solve the problems. The brother of a woman collects offerings by devotees,” he said.

“She, in fraudulent ways, is misusing the faith of a group of people in coastal Karnataka to make money. This is a case of cheating and we have asked police to investigate the case,” he added.