By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 16 Aug: Noted filmmaker and son of the soil, Avinash Dhyani, along with local stage artists and his crew, staged a silent protest at Gandhi Park, here, this morning. The protest was against the mistreatment and beating up of Avinash and his team members by police officials posted at IDPL Chowki (Rishikesh) on the night of 9 August.
Speaking to media persons, Dhyani narrated his ordeal at the hands of a hotel owner and the police officials posted at IDPL Chowki on the night of 9 August. He added that some viral videos shared by the police officials and the hotel owner are attempting to portray him and his team members in bad light. He had initially tried to forget the ordeal but, then, decided to open up on the incident and let the world know about what really happened. The protest was held at Gandhi Park early today.
Later, speaking to Garhwal Post, Dhyani narrated what he and his team members had to undergo on the unfortunate night.
Reminding that he is currently busy working on a film on Gabar Singh Negi, a World War hero, who hailed from Uttarakhand, he stated that, after a hard and long day, he and his team members checked in at Hotel Shanti Van at Lakkar Ghat in Rishikesh for the night stay. However, soon after they checked in, he received a call from Dehradun to discuss a technical glitch that had cropped up regarding screening of his film Phooli, a film based on the theme Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao. However, when he tried to leave, he and his team members did not find anyone at the reception or the kitchen or the lobby. Even the main gate was locked from inside, while there was no one to be seen anywhere. Almost all the rooms were vacant, perhaps due to it being offseason. However, soon after, the owner turned up from inside the building and started misbehaving with the film crew. When told not to behave badly, he called up some young men who came armed with rods and lathis. Someone from the crew called up the Police. The police officials, at first, tried to convince the crew to settle the matter with the hotel owner. When constantly urged to come, two police personnel did turn up. However, instead of registering the case, they started misbehaving with the film crew. The crew members and Dhyani were taken to IDPL Chowki and beaten up.
The police team insisted on their medical checkup instead of registering the case. When the issue snowballed, Avinash Dhyani called his relative, advocate Bhawna, but the police officials misbehaved even with her also. They were roughly pushed around and locked up. Later, they were taken to Rishikesh Kotwali where they were let off in the wee hours of 10 August.
Dhyani claimed that the incident had shaken him so much that he kept quiet about it. However, the hotel owner and the police officials made viral certain selected portions of the videos, forcing him to come out in the open about it. He added that being a filmmaker for the past many years, he is generally on the move and has to stay in hotels often. Never before had he faced such an ordeal from the hotel management or from the police.
He added that he had called up Director General of Police (DGP) Ashok Kumar, who ordered that the policemen concerned be sent to the lines. Dhyani asserted that this action is hardly adequate since he is still very much affected by the torment he and his team members and his relative, advocate Bhawna, had to face. He also added that the investigation in this case is underway and he has recorded his statement in his regard.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, DGP Ashok Kumar admitted that the policemen concerned are telling a different story, but he has ordered action against them. He understands that they were in the wrong, too, and hence he has ordered an inquiry and, if guilty, the policemen would be punished.
