PUNE: Police on Thursday stopped a leader of a Kashmiri Pandit organization from attending a symposium on the film "The Kashmir Files".
The event, titled "The Kashmir Files - Ek Ardhasatya," had been organised by the Yuvak Kranti Dal at Gandhi Bhavan in Kothrud area where Ashok Kumar Pandey, writer of the book "Kashmir Aur Kashmiri Pandit", was to speak.
Police issued a notice to Rohit Kachroo, national coordinator of the `India 4 Kashmir', restraining him from attending the event.
"We just wanted to take part in the event and ask some questions peacefully. But the organisers went to the police station citing law and order situation. Police asked us not to attend the program. We told police that we would not indulge in any protest, not even peaceful protest and would only ask questions during the question-answer session," said Kachroo.
His organization also gave an application to the police, requesting them to cancel the event "as the program promotes falsehood", he told reporters.
"I was detained around 11 am and kept till evening and was issued a notice at the time of release stating that if we went to the event, action will be taken against us," he said.
Mahendra Jagtap, senior inspector at the Kothrud police station, said members of the Kashmiri Hindu community were asked not to attend the event for the maintenance of peace and law and order.
"We even proposed that they can have a meeting with the organisers and clear their doubts. Kachroo and others initially agreed to meet the organisers, but later refused to meet them," he claimed.
"We tried to explain that if he goes there and asks any question, there might be a dispute over opinions. The responsibility of his safety also lies with the police," the inspector added.
The Kashmir Files, directed by Vivek Agnihotri, depicts the tragedy of the Kashmiri Pandits who had to leave the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s as militants targeted the community systematically.