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RAIPUR: A group of stick-wielding right wing outfit members stormed Raipur’s mall during the Chhattisgarh shutdown on Wednesday, vandalising property and targeting Christmas decorations and damaging the Christmas tree and Santa Claus figure set up at the mall.
The incident took place even though the mall was officially closed in support of the bandh, the mall management said, adding that they have suffered loss of lakhs of rupees due to the violent incident.According to mall management, the group of 40-50 people was aggressive, violent, running around the mall holding rods and hockey sticks asking staff and others inside, ‘Are you Hindu or Christian? What is your caste?’ They were even checking ID cards and badges.Capital police have lodged an FIR on Thursday, based on a complaint lodged by Magneto Mall against 25-30 right wing activists under several relevant sections of the BNS, for voluntarily causing hurt, unlawful assembling at a point, general rioting and mischief.Raipur SSP Lal Umed Singh told TOI that the matter is being taken seriously and police have identified few people involved in the incident and strict action will be taken soon.
He said that the decorations for Christmas and New Year were done by the mall outside and inside, which were badly damaged. Police said CCTV footage from the mall clearly captures a group entering with sticks and creating a ruckus. The video of the incident went viral on social media, prompting Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra to share it questioning, "Why is the VHP obsessed with poking its nose into every festival? The VHP should be banned in India before anything else."CCTV visuals show a group of around 30–40 youths entering the premises together, some carrying sticks, and moving around the mall as chaos breaks out.One of the eye witnesses told TOI, "We were scared we might get beaten. By the time police arrived, a lot of things had already been damaged. More than anything else, it created an atmosphere of fear. Can't we celebrate the winter festival now?"Mall management has estimated losses of ₹15–20 lakh, saying Christmas decorations, display items and fixtures were smashed.
Images from inside show a Christmas tree and festive installations torn down and scattered.Following the vandalism at Magneto Mall, authorities evacuated the Ambuja Mall on Vidhan Sabha road as a precaution. Police cleared visitors and turned back those arriving in the evening.The incidents have raised serious concerns over law and order during the shutdown, even as Hindu organisations and business bodies had publicly backed the bandh call linked to the recent Amabeda violence in Kanker district.While the Chhattisgarh 'bandh' saw a huge support by chamber of commerce and traders etc, the members of right wing outfit were all over the place in towns and cities, forcing even vegetable vendors to shut the outlets.
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