Unidentified miscreants hurled a petrol bomb outside Prakash Theatre in Belagavi where Padmaavat was playing on Thursday night.
CCTV footage aired by NewsX captured people running in fear after a man walking towards the theatre hurled a bottle petrol bomb. The bottle exploded in a huge fireball seconds after it was thrown leaving the crowd panicking and running helter-skelter.
The incident occurred at 9:30 pm. The audience watching the film in Prakash Theatre were shocked to hear a loud noise during the screening of the film and reportedly ran out of the hall.
A large crowd was standing outside the theatre where the bomb was hurled.
While nobody was hurt in the incident, Belagavi police are investigating whether the miscreants hurled the bomb targeting the film Padmaavat, which has been in the news for the last few months for allegedly portraying historical inaccuracies.
Police Inspector IH Sathenahalli, who rushed to the spot after the incident suspected that the bomb was linked to the screening of the film.
“Few miscreants, who were on the bike have thrown the bottle and light the cracker that makes huge noise to scare the people, due to which there was an explosion like sound. Nobody is injured in the incidence. We convinced the audience who were scared and the screening was resumed after some time,” he said speaking to Deccan Herald.
Various pro-Hindu and Rajput groups have opposed the film alleging its director Sanjay Leela Bhansali of distorting history.
However, the Supreme Court has given the green light for the film’s release.
Cinema halls were vandalised, vehicles were and a school bus was pelted with stones in New Delhi, as the film starring Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh released on Thursday.