Bajrang Dal barges into hotel, stops ladies’ party

NT Correspondent

Shivamogga: A late-night ‘ladies' party’ organised at a hotel in Shivamogga was disrupted allegedly by Bajrang Dal workers on Friday(March 17). During the evening, members of the right-wing Hindu organisation led by Rajesh Gowda protested against the Women's Day party at Hotel Cliff Embassy.

Around 70 participants, a majority of them women, were told to leave the venue during the incident. A video of the raid by the Bajrang Dal members is going viral on social media sites; however, no police case has reportedly been filed so far. The party was being held at a hotel on Kuvempu Road in Shivamogga late Friday night.

Learning of the event, the activists allegedly arrived at the venue with policemen and warned the women to end the party, before forcibly closing the party. Rajesh Gowda, district convener of Bajrang Dal, who spoke to reporters, admitted that the activists had stopped the celebrations.

“We had said that such parties should not be held in the Malnad region, yet the party was organised. The matter celebration on Friday night was brought to the notice of the police a week in advance. On the night of the party, we visited the venue with police staff members and told the participants to leave for home,” he clarified. “The Bajrang Dal activists have only stopped an event that is contrary to Indian culture,” he stated.

Bajrang Dal says police stopped the party

Gowda claimed that his organisation did not take the law into their hands, but instead informed the police, who stopped the party.

Police denies stopping party

The police denied that they had stopped the party and said that they only intervened to prevent any untoward incident. Shivamogga Superintendent of Police, G.K. Mithun Kumar, stated that as soon as they received information about a group trying to stop the party, police officers were sent to the spot and prevented any problems

Hotel earlier hosted PMO officials

The hotel has a good reputation and has even hosted VIPs, including staff of the Prime Minister's office, during Prime Minister Modi's recent visit to Shivamogga.