Students call off 'Kiss of Love' protest in Bhopal

The 'Kiss of Love' protest against moral policing, planned by some college students, was not held here today as police maintained a strict vigil to prevent any such event from happening. A number of students had earlier planned to protest near Shahpura lake in the city today. There was no 'Kiss of Love' protest in Shahpura area today, City Superintendent of Police Jayant Singh Rathore told PTI. Some of the organisers were earlier reportedly picked up by police and warned.

According to some organisers, following pressure from some right-wing organisations they held a meeting yesterday and dropped the plan to hold the protest. However, one of the organisers said they had put off their plan to protest as some students were busy with examinations and refused to comment any further. Meanwhile, people participated in 'Raahgiri' at the Shahpura lake in the city today.

Azra Khan, of NGO Embarq which promotes 'Raahgiri' said their aim is to discourage vehicular traffic and encourage walking for a healthy environment by organising such events. "Requests have come to us for holding such events at other places of Madhya Pradesh like Indore but we are yet taken a final call on it," she added. 'Raahgiri Day' is a weekly street event being held at some cities, providing people with an opportunity to reclaim their streets for recreation that promotes health, well-being, fitness, togetherness and joy.