Angry mob attack attendees at Indian Cultural Centre's yoga day event in Maldives [Watch]
An angry crowd forced into a football stadium in Male, the Maldives’s capital, on Tuesday and deranged an ongoing yoga and meditation session.
The event was organised by the Indian Cultural Centre in association with the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment on the occasion of the International Yoga Day. Attendees to the event were unable to carry on with their yoga because of the interruption by the angry mob.
The protesters, who were holding banners and raising slogans, allegedly demanded that the Yoga Day celebrations be called off and the attendees vacate the football stadium right away. Some attendees reportedly stated that they were threatened by the people in the crowd.
A group of Maldivian youth have disrupted a yoga day event organised by the Indian High Commission in the Maldives. pic.twitter.com/gOCvPVwjmS
— The Maldives Journal (@MaldivesJournal) June 21, 2022
A number of diplomats, government officials and ministers in the Maldives government were also present at the event when the mob barged in.
Videos uploaded on the internet showed the angry mob armed with sticks and flags charging towards people who were practicing yoga and meditation. A video posted by Raajje TV displayed how the mob destroyed the venue and brought down food stalls meant for the attendees present.
HoonuKhabaru: yoga day faahaga kurumuge harakaaiy galolhu dhandugai kuriyah dhanikoh bayaku ethanah vadheganefi. pic.twitter.com/ZdaVGWBhJ3
— RaajjeTV (@Raajje_tv) June 21, 2022
Police stepped in before the situation worsened into a physical altercation by releasing tear gas canisters into the stadium where the angry mob was harassing the attendees.
The country's President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said an enquiry into the incident was ordered.
“An investigation has been launched by @PoliceMv into the incident that happened this morning at Galolhu stadium. This is being treated as a matter of serious concern and those responsible will be swiftly brought before the law,” Solih tweeted.
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First published: 21 June 2022, 16:00 IST