A fashion show reportedly took place in the Salasar Balaji temple in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. It was stalled after Bajrang Dal members objected to the fashion show at a Hindu religious site. The event was planned by a company named FDCA at the Salasar Temple under the jurisdiction of the Telibandha police station. Arif and Manish Soni are reported to be the organizers of the fashion show.

In the video, it can be seen that Bajrang Dal workers are protesting against the event and seeking an explanation from the organizers for holding such an event in a temple. It can also be seen in the video that a woman wearing a hijab is standing and trying to defend the event from the side of the organizers. During the confrontation, Bajrang Dal workers assert that the incident has offended the religious sentiments of Hindus.

The temple’s hall was transformed into a stage for the fashion show. Visitors were also invited to attend the function. Workers from the Bajrang Dal arrived at the scene and demonstrated against the event as soon as the word spread. When the Bajrang Dal district convener Ravi Wadhwani arrived, he engaged with the event’s organizers.

According to Wadhwani, a complaint over this incident has been submitted to the Telibandha police station, and an FIR will be filed against the organizers for hurting religious sensibilities. Wadhwani asserted that the event offended Hindus’ religious feelings and that it was improper to host such events in temples. 

Women in trendy burqas approach girls as young as 8 for ‘modelling assignments’ outside reputed Kolkata girls’ schools

A few days ago, women clad in trendy burqas, with fashionable sunglasses shielding their eyes, started appearing outside some reputed girls’ schools in Kolkata just when the students were leaving for their homes.

As they waited for school buses or their parents to collect them, these women offered them modelling assignments. One of these schools was where the grand niece of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee studies.

The Kolkata Police initiated a probe after the parents complained. After the investigation, the police gave a clean chit to these women. The report stated that it was all a misunderstanding. The women in question (some of them are allegedly students of well-known south Kolkata colleges) were apparently scouting for talent for fashion shows involving children and teenagers, the report claimed.

However, no explanation was given as to why the talent scouts had to dress up in that particular manner (to conceal their identities) or never considered seeking permission from the parents before approaching the children.

Now, a PIL has been filed in the Calcutta High Court, seeking a thorough probe into such incidents. The petitioner is Vijay Kumar Singhal, a chartered accountant, and lawyer by profession who’s also a social activist.

The PIL was filed by his counsel Phiroze Edulji. In the petition, Singhal mentioned that he was compelled to approach the court as the police response is not at all commensurate with the gravity of the offences committed by the so-called talent scouts.

These women violated several provisions of law and the children were at the risk of being trafficked with the lure of money and fame. One of the children approached is barely 8-year-old.

The incident flagged by a mother, whose two daughters studying at Modern High School were approached by a woman with modelling assignment outside the school premises, has raised concerns among parents across schools, irrespective of their child's gender.

Though Kolkata Police said there was no reason to worry as the women concerned did not have any ulterior motive, parents said they had every reason to worry as no stranger could approach an unaccompanied child outside a school, irrespective of their intent.

S M Agarwal, a parent of a Class-III student at Modern High whose classmate had been approached with the modeling assignment, said the issue was not just about the modeling offer but also on approaching a school student when a parent was not present.

"The women who were involved may not have had any ill intent. But how does one guarantee others will be similarly disposed? There should be zero tolerance for approaching children strangers outside school gates. That is why the first thing that parents teach children when they step out is not to speak to strangers or accept anything from them," he said.

Parents of Modern High School students said they were waiting for the school's response to the incident. South City International School principal John Bagul, who has had to face questions from parents about the alert forwarded on social media, said he would caution children during the assembly. "Be careful about whom you talk to. If your instinct says something's not quite right, excuse yourself. As a rule, we have parents or identified individuals escorting junior school students on their way home. But irrespective of age, it is best to be cautious," he added.

Tejas Doshi, whose daughter is in Class IX at the school, said approaching children for a commercial activity was against law. "No adult stranger should approach a minor for anything, leave alone for something, like modeling. They could have advertised on Instagram or Facebook instead of looking for children outside schools," he said, adding he had again cautioned his daughters about not entertaining any strangers.

Food blogger Madhusree Basu Roy, who has a son aged 10 and daughter aged 5 studying at Indus Valley World School, said as a parent, she was constantly anxious about her children's safety and such incidents only added to the concern. "A school-going child does not have the maturity to understand what is good and what is not. A parent's consent is absolutely a must. Even when schools organise group activities, they inform parents about it. The event management firm should have approached the school instead of going directly to students and held an audition on the premises after taking the consent of parents," she said. Rajib Ghosh, father of a Class-V student at Future Foundation, agreed. "Had this been college students, it would have been legal. But approaching school students directly is a big no-no."

Subhasis Chowdhury, whose son studies in Class III at Assembly of God Church, felt the unambiguous message that the police needed to send out was that such behavior was unacceptable. "If you turn a blind eye once, others will be encouraged to do so," he feared.

One of the women, who has been in the eye of the storm ever since the parent sent her complaint to the Modern High principal and was then sent to the police, admitted it was foolish of her to do something that raised an alarm. "Blame it on inexperience. It was wrong of me to approach the children directly. I was trying to find students who would be interested in a children's show but I should have approached the school or parents' groups. I have three school-going daughters and would mind if a stranger approached them without my consent. I will act more responsibly," she said.

West Bengal is among the top states in the country from where women are trafficked. It has been estimated that over 40 percent of such women (most of them minors) are trafficked and sold as sex workers. Recently, the West Bengal government signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maharashtra government to crack down on this racket.

“How could the police give a clean chit to such people who have violated several laws? Approaching a minor without parents’ consent amounts to an attempt to kidnap. Minors can’t be engaged in activities such as acting or modeling without the consent of their parents.

“Even if an event is planned with minors, permission has to be taken from the district magistrate after submitting all the details, including consent from parents. All such laws were flouted but the police gave the accused a clean chit. We demand a thorough probe. We would also want to know who these women were and why they were concealing their identities,” Edulji said after filing the petition.

It has also been claimed by the police that the talent scouts chose to approach the students outside the school premises after one of the schools denied them permission to carry out such activity inside.

This only goes to prove that the organization involved didn’t have the best interests of the children in mind while offering them modeling assignments, the petition claimed.

Nowadays, thanks to easy access to social media, children are vulnerable, said a professor in the social sciences department of Calcutta University.

“The most vulnerable are teenagers who feel that they are sufficiently old to decide for themselves. That is natural for their age when it is normal to be rebellious. There have been instances when children have accepted offers from strangers without informing their parents. The parents only came to know after the children got into trouble,” he said.

References:

• hindupost.in
• opindia.com