Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police on Tuesday arrested several members of the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samiti (BGUS) as they tried to take out a bike rally on Tank Bund.
The BGUS took out the bike rally to press its demand for conducting the immersion of Ganesh idols in Hussain Sagar Lake.
The Telangana High Court had ordered that only clay idols will be allowed to be immersed in city lakes, including Hussain Sagar.
Maintaining that the High Court judgment violated the constitutional right to freedom of religion, BGUS general secretary Dr Bhagvanth Rao said the committee felt the judgment is due to “misinformation” presented in High Court by state government that idols made of Plaster of Paris pollute the lake.
Saying that they had not received any application seeking permission for the bike rally, Hyderabad city police said, “Since the Assembly session will be in progress, such mass gatherings are prohibited in the area.”
Deccan Chronicle quoted a city police official as saying, “Holding such rallies is illegal. According to the City Police Act, for holding such events, permission is mandatory. Any violation will be treated as per the law. Further, due to the Assembly session in progress, prohibitory orders are already in effect within a four-km radius around the Assembly.”
