Bajrang Dal unhappy with Church opposite Temple in Tovino Thomas film; set ransacked [Photos]

In a shocking incident, a group of Bajrang Dal workers have destroyed a set of Tovino Thomas' upcoming movie Minnal Murali. The workers from the pro-Hindutva outfit alleged that the makers of the Malayalam movie had erected a set of a church in front of the Shiva temple in Kalady.

The news of the demolition of church sets has been confirmed by Akhil Hindu Parishad (AHP) State General Secretary Hari Palode.

Saffron terrorism on the rise?

After demolishing the shooting set, Hari Palode also shared the pictures of the destroyed church on his Facebook page. Palode revealed that AHP had several times warned not to build such a church on Kalady, as a Shiva temple is located nearby.

"When they built such a structure in front of Lord Shiva in Kalady, we have asked them to remove it. We have also lodged several complaints. We do not have the habit of begging all the time, so we decided to demolish it. I appreciate all the Bajrang Dal workers who took part in this effort," wrote Hari Palode on his Facebook page.

The makers of Minnal Murali had set up the church a couple of months ago, but due to the coronavirus lockdown, they were unable to carry out the shooting as per plans. In the movie, Tovino Thomas will be seen playing the role of a desi Superhero.

Film fraternity condemns the act

Soon after the incident, Basil Joseph, director of Minnal Murali penned an emotional note on his Facebook page and made it clear that Bajrang Dal workers have actually shattered the dreams of many people working in this movie.

"I don't know what to tell at this moment. For some people, this could be a comedy or troll. For some others, it could be politics. But for us, it was a dream. The producer has spent a huge amount of money to make such a set, and we had all the permissions to make it," wrote Basil.

As the news of this unfortunate incident surfaced online, several directors including Vineeth Sreenivasan, Mithun Manuel Thomas, and Aashiq Abu have extended their support to Basil Joseph and crew.