The body of a man was found hanging at Jaipur's Nahargarh Fort on Friday with messages denouncing "Padmavati" scribbled on rocks nearby even as passions for and against the controversial film continued to rage.
Police in Jaipur said they were finding out whether the 40-year-old man's death -- his body was found on the outer walls of the Nahargarh Fort -- had anything to do with the "Padmavati" row.
The message, scrawled on rocks nearby, read, "Hum putle nahin jalate... latkate hain" (We don't burn effigies, we hang them).
"'Padmavati' ka virodh karne walon... Hum main hai dum." (Those protesting against 'Padmavati' ... We have guts)
Those protesting against the film had earlier hung effigies of filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and actress Deepika Padukone outside Chittorgarh Fort.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyendra Singh told IANS that the dead man had been identified as Chetan Saini, a resident of Jaipur's Shastri Nagar who ran a jewellery and handicrafts business.
“Har kaafir ka haal yahi (Same fate to all disbelievers)”, “Chetan tantric mara gaya (Tantric Chetan has been killed)”, “Padmavati ka jauhar hai, toh Jodhaa ka Akbar shouhar hai (If Padmavati committed self-immolation, then Akbar is Jodhaa’s husband)” were some of the other notes written with charcoal on the stones in the fort.
#Rajasthan: Body found hanging at Nahargarh Fort in #Jaipur, threat note on rocks also seen #Padmavati pic.twitter.com/sSx9ONhF7D
— ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2017
Rajasthan: Police reaches Nahargarh Fort in #Jaipur where body of a 40 year old local was found hanging, threatening note on rocks also seen pic.twitter.com/CFitqLVIwb
— ANI (@ANI) November 24, 2017
In 2008, the Shri Rajput Karni Sena (SRKS) had protested against Ashutosh Gowariker’s film Jodhaa Akbar, alleging “inaccurate portrayal of history.” Eventually, the film was not released in the state.
The release of Padmavati, earlier scheduled for December 1, has been deferred following protests in several states, including Rajasthan.
“It may be an attempt to mislead investigations, but the person or persons who did this knew their history quite well, referring to ‘tantric Chetan’ and Akbar-Jodhaa. It seems organised, there are dozens of message written near the body and it would have taken some time to scribble them,” said SRKS president Mahipal Singh Makrana.
In Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s 1540 epic poem Padmavati, King Ratansen (who later married Padmavati) banished sorcerer Raghava Chaitanya, who travelled to the court of Alauddin Khilji in Delhi, and told him about Padmini’s beauty, which led Khilji to lay siege to Chittor.
“Chetan was in no way associated with us, but ‘tantric Chetan’ seems to be a reference to Raghav Chaitanya,” said Makrana, pointing out that the body was found hanging on the wall which faces the old city, “perhaps as a message”. “This is not the way to protest. Earlier too, we have received threats from Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Norway, etc. and also wrote to Jaipur Commissioner about it,” he said.
Police have not ruled out the possibility that the notes on the stones may be an attempt to mislead investigations. “It is not clear as to when those lines were scribbled,” said Ramkishan, SHO of Brahmpuri police station.
He confirmed that Saini’s fingers were found to be blackened, but said it was not clear whether they had become black due to decomposition of the body or from handling charcoal. A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) also went to the spot on Friday morning to investigate the death.
While National Award winning actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and actress Rani Mukerji voiced distress over the violent rant against the film's producer-director and actors, some people in New Delhi burnt filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's effigy outside a metro station.
However, there was some much-needed relief for Bhansali and Viacom18 Motion Pictures.
The Delhi High Court dismissed a PIL seeking an expert committee of historians and social activists to examine "Padmavati" to ensure there were no "distortions", saying such "hopeless and misconceived" pleas were "encouraging" those agitating against the film.
Also, West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee became the first Chief Minister to say she was ready to welcome the film and its crew -- at a time when Chief Ministers of at least four other states have opposed the movie's release.
Hindu groups backed by the BJP are up in arms against the movie over conjectures that it distorts history about Rajput queen Padmavati and Rajput culture.
