Several Sikh organisations in Dehradun and other parts of the State took to the streets on Friday in protest against the screening of MSG: Messenger of God’— a controversial movie directed by self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan—in various cinemas. The stir led to stalling of its screening. These outfits vented anger as the lead character in the movie is dressed up as Guru Gobind Singh and he is supposedly shown in poor light. The protesters also alleged that the godman is projecting himself as a God, a claim that is blasphemous as far as the tenets of Sikhism are concerned.
Dehradun City Magistrate lalit Narayan Mishra said that following protest by various Sikh organisations, screening of this movie has been stopped in all the cinemas till next order. Security around cinemas has been beefed up with the deployment of police forces as a part of precaution in the city, he added. Meanwhile, the protesters took out rallies across the city and shouted slogans against the film, demanding a ban on it. They staged demonstrations at the cinemas in the morning. later, they protested at Collectorate too.