Maharashtra: Pune Police books three for shooting video inside Lal Mahal premises

The Pune Police booked three persons, including dancer Vaishnavi Patil, on Friday, for shooting a video of Lavani dance inside the Lal Mahal in Pune.

Patil is a celebrity dancer who had shot a short video at the Lal Mahal premises for a social media "reel", that went viral on the social media.

According to the Pune Police, she has been booked under sections 295 (Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class) and 186 (Obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Faraskhana Police station.

Lal Mahal is sacred to the Maratha community and all those who follow Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, as it is the place where he spent his childhood.

The historic building comes under the jurisdiction of the Pune Municipal Corporation and to shoot there, one is required to take permission from the officials of the Heritage Department of the Pune Municipal Corporation.

As per the officials, no permission (to shoot inside Mahal's premises) was sought by Patil and the other two persons booked.

The incident came to light after several organisations objected to it once the video started making rounds over the Internet on May 16.

(ANI)