Mahesana

Two Ravans were in discussion in north Gujarat today.

One of them was in Mahesana town which is district headquarter. The Ravan effigy started burning even before public could gather in the ground and a character playing Ram in Ramlila could target it with arrow. The Ravan statue started burning due to short circuit.

Another Ravan was in discussion for police action. Police confiscated an effigy of Ravan and lodged a case against some youths from the local Patel community in Vijapur town of Mehsana district as they did not have the permission to burn it on the occasion of Dussehra.

Mehsana Superintendent of Police J R Mothalia said these youths, who were associated with the Patel agitation, had planned to turn the event into a protest.

“Police had denied them permission to carry out the customary burning of Ravana’s effigy in Vijapur. But some of them tried to sneak in to the venue with the effigy. We stopped them and confiscated the effigy,” said Mothalia.

“We denied them permission because we knew that these youths will use the event as a platform for some kind of protest related to the quota agitation,” he said.

Vijapur police registered a case against the organisers but no arrests had been made yet, said Mothalia.

– With inputs from agency