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This is an archive article published on February 12, 2010

Show courage: police chief to theatres

Some theatres may have developed cold feet but those that do screen My Name is Khan from Friday will not find security lacking,Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan has assured.

Some theatres may have developed cold feet but those that do screen My Name is Khan from Friday will not find security lacking,Mumbai Police Commissioner D Sivanandhan has assured.

“It is not our concern if some of the theatre owners cow down to threats. It is not our concern if they do not show the movie. Our job is not to persuade everyone to watch the movie. Our job is to ensure complete law and order,” Sivanandhan said.

“If some of the exhibitors are cowards,you cannot point fingers at the Mumbai Police. If they have the courage they should screen the movie and leave the security to us. This is my word.”

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The commissioner said elaborate security arrangements remain for the 63 theatres originally scheduled to screen the movie. “At this stage,25 per cent of the Mumbai Police is standing guard to ensure that the city feels safe when they go to watch My Name Is Khan. If needed,and if the distributors or the situation demand,I will put 50 per cent of the Mumbai Police towards protection. No one has contacted us till now asking for more security.”

Sivanandhan said the police strategy has worked until now. “We have made unprecedented preventive arrests to the scale of 2,189 persons in the last three days. All of us have been monitoring the Shiv Sena’s activities for the last three days and not let anything slip. In Ashish Talkies in Chembur,when 10 Sena activists moved to attack the screen,our men stopped them on time. This shows that our security arrangements are in place. Our intelligence networks are working round the clock.”

JCP (law and order) Himanshu Roy echoed the commissioner,adding that to screen a movie was a “commercial decision”. “We have got a letter from the distributors that they are satisfied with the security,” he said,adding: “I have seen the movie. I feel Shah Rukh is at his best. But that is my view as a movie-goer.”

Early in the morning,the N M Joshi Marg Police apprehended a Worli Sena vibhag pramukh,Deepak Bagwe,who was carrying black paint in his car. He was booked for spreading enmity between communities under the CrPC while corporator Manohar Kambli and two other deputy shakha pramukhs were detained later in the day.

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Opposite Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar,a Bharat Bachao Andolan demonstration against the Shiv Sena’s threats turned ugly as Sainiks allegedly began to throw coconuts at the protesters. Around 20 protesters carrying posters of Sachin Tendulkar,Shah Rukh Khan and Mukesh Ambani faced angry Sena men.

“We were not allowed to show the posters by the police. The Sainiks who had gheraoed us started throwing coconuts which injured four people,” said Feroze Mithiborwala,one of the protesters.

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