Sets of Prakash Jha’s streaming show Ashram 3 vandalised by Bajrang Dal

Bajrang Dal activists went on a rampage on the sets of award-winning filmmaker Prakash Jha’s streaming show Ashram 3, in Bhopal on Sunday. They threw ink on Jha and vandalised the sets of his upcoming series, police said.

Reportedly, the members of the right-wing group stated that Ashram, starring Bobby Deol in the lead role of a godman, was an assault on Hinduism and it hurt the community’s sentiments. They claimed that they will not allow the team to resume filming in the state until the title was changed.

Bajrang Dal leader Sushil Sudeley said, “Prakash Jha wrongly portrayed the arrangements in a Hindu ashram in its previous seasons by showing the exploitation of women by gurus. There have been ashrams in Sanatan dharma for the past thousand years that played an important role in building social values. There is no truth in what has been shown in this web series. Will Jha dare to make such a web series on other religions?”

Superintendent of Police (SP), Bhopal south, Sai Krishna Thota, said that some people raised objections and staged protests over the name of the web series when its shooting was underway at Old Jail Premises located in Arera Hills. The protesters also threw ink on Prakash Jha and pelted stones, the officer added.

“We blackened the face of Prakash Jha and are searching for Bobby Deol, who should learn from his elder brother Sunny Deol (Bollywood actor and BJP MP), who has played roles in patriotic movies,” Sudeley added.

While no case was registered till the time of going to press, deputy inspector general of police (DIG) Irshad Wali said four people were arrested as a preventive action under section 151 of CrPC.

Prakash Jha has not issued any statement so far.