Padmaavat row: Protesters block Delhi-Jaipur highway; 48 detained in Ahmedabad for violence

With less than 24 hours left for the release of Bollywood movie Padmaavat, protests continued in various places in the country including Bhopal, Gurgaon, Jaipur, and Ahmedabad.

Protesters on Wednesday blocked Delhi-Jaipur highway and Gurgaon's Wazirpur-Pataudi road with some incidents reported from various parts.

The Ahmedabad Police have arrested 48 people from various locations under act of rioting for unleashing violence in the city.

On Tuesday night, miscreants pelted stones and tried to set vehicles ablaze outside some multiplexes. Members of some fringe outfits held a protest in Bhopal where they burnt Bhansali's effigy.

The first to be targeted was Gulmohar, which saw some stone pelting before the mobs moved to Acropolis Mall where they set fire to over 15 vehicles parked outside. The mobs then moved to Himalaya Mall in Drive-In where set fire to over 15 vehicles and ransacked several shops.

Eyewitnesses said the police did not take any action against the mobs, through the government had earlier promised that it would provide protection to theatres that wanted to screen the controversial movie.

The Karni Sena, however, has denied their involvement in the violence. "Our members were not involved in the violence," said Karni Sena leader Lokendra Yadav.

Meanwhile, police have arrested 16 people in connection with the violence.

Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said that most theatre owners in the state had voluntarily decided to not screen the controversial movie. He said the state government was trying best to maintain law and order.

In Surat, police arrested 57 people having links with Karni Sena and related outfits in connection to Sunday's incidents related to burning of tyres and pelting of stones on buses.

Surat commissioner of police Satish Sharma warned that the troublemakers would not be spared. He also assured full security to theatres willing to screen the movie.

A Maharashtra minister, Jaykumar Rawal, appealed to people not to watch the film, saying Bhansali had tampered with the history to earn money.

Prohibitory orders have been imposed in Gurgaon till Sunday to maintain law and order situation, in view of Shree Rajput Karni Sena threatening to target theatres screening the film.

There are over 40 multiplexes and cinema halls in Gurgaon.

Karni Sena has been the most vociferous of the fringe groups opposing the period drama, alleging that historical facts were distorted in the movie.

However, the Haryana government has said that it would implement the Supreme Court order that allows the screening of the movie.

Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh said, "Section 144 of the CrPC has been imposed in view of release of the 'Padmaavat' in various cinema halls and multiplexes on January 25 as there is likelihood of law and order disturbance."

On Tuesday, Supreme Court turned down pleas by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments and refused to modify an earlier order that cleared the decks for the nationwide release of the Sanjay Leela Bhansali flick.

Maintaining that states were under constitutional obligation to maintain law and order, the top court had said this duty also included providing police protection to persons involved in the film, its exhibition and the audience.

The lavishly mounted film, starring Deepika Padukone as Rani Padmavati, Shahid Kapoor as Maharawal Ratan Singh and Ranveer Singh as Alauddin Khilji, the film was slated for release on December 1 last year but was postponed as the makers had not got a certificate from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), or the censor board, till then.