Massive chaos, ugly clashes and women being pushed around… this marked Salman Khan’s visit to both Chandigarh and Ludhiana on Thursday. The ‘Dabangg’ star, who was on a visit to the state to launch his charity merchandise stores in the two cities, too faced the fury of the crowd as he was shoved and cornered despite 100 odd security men, including his own entourage headed by loyalist, Shera. The commotion first started in the morning at Silver Arch mall in Ludhiana. Despite a large posse of security staff cordoning off the mall entrance, thousands sneaked in.
A woman associated with the event, demanding anonymity, said, “Even the staff wasn’t spared and some of them were manhandled. Windows were smashed and things got normal only after Sallu left.” When contacted Tejinder Singh Teji, event coordinator, said, “Despite assurances from the mall management and owner Ajay Nayar in Ludhiana that every outlet and entry to the venue will stay shut till 2 pm, nothing happened.” Sallu’s security head Shera said, “I don’t know what and how this happened. This was not expected.” In Chandigarh, the situation turned ugly after Salman turned up at Elante Mall. Bouncers could not stop the crowd and had a scuffle with them. A lady journalist was knocked on the floor by the overpowering crowd. Even security men came to blows with invitees and people screamed for help.
According to sources, excessive invitations to people and a public announcement of Salman’s visit led to chaos. Chandigarh police said, “We were told that it will be a normal gathering, there will not be more than 500 people. But it became so big.”
Inspector Narinder Patial, SHO of the area said, “So far, we have not received any complaint regarding manhandling.” Sources say the police are looking into the matter and will carry out a probe. Salman struggled to get out of the venue and was seen losing his cool. “What is this? Control,” he told one of the enthusiasts. People even broke barricades to enter into the mall.
