Valentine's Day supporters blacken Muthalik's face

Bangalore: Protesting Sri Rama Sene's (army of Lord Ram) plan to disrupt Valentine's Day celebrations on Feb 14, a group of people on Thursday blackened the face of its chief Pramod Muthalik here.

Muthalik's outfit had threatened, like last year, to marry off people celebrating the V-Day.

Muthalik was participating in a programme near Town Hall in city centre when a group of youth caught hold of him and smeared black colour on his face.

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A visibly shaken Muthalik was rescued by his supporters, and police later detained six people for the incident.

"We have taken into custody six persons and are interrogating them," C.S. Anand, inspector of Halasur Gate police station, less than a kilometer away from the Town Hall, said.

Anand said Muthalik was taking part in a discussion organised by a Kannada TV channel on his outfit's opposition to Valentine's Day celebrations.

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The Rama Sene earned notoriety by its attack on women in a pub in the coastal town of Managlore, about 350 km from here, in January 2009.

But Muthalik's threat to disrupt the Valentine's Day celebrations and marry off couples displaying affection to each other in public places fizzled out in the face of widespread condemnation across the country.

B.S. Yeddyurappa, Bharatiya Janata Party's first Chief Minister in Karnartaka, has warned of strict action against any moral policing on Valentine's Day.

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The Sene has little support in Karnataka. However, Muthalik hogs the headlines often by his threat to organise agitation on issues like conversion, cow slaughter, terrorism and on occasions like Valentine's Day.