The Hindu : Front Page : Mock funeral processions, bonfires mark fan protests

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Sunday, Mar 25, 2007
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Mock funeral processions, bonfires mark fan protests

Tight security at residences of Dravid, Tendulkar, Dhoni, Ganguly to prevent mob attacks; selection panel lambasted

PHOTOS: AFP

WHEN ANGER FOLLOWED SHOCK: "Wailing" fans stage a mock funeral for Indian cricket in Ahmedabad on Saturday, after Team India's defeat in a World Cup match against Sri Lanka on Friday.

New Delhi: Upset at India's virtual exit from the World Cup, cricket fans on Saturday went berserk taking out `funeral' processions and making bonfires of the portraits of leading players.

Security men were deployed at the houses of skipper Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, spinner Harbhajan Singh and wicketkeeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni to prevent any mob attack.

A Kanpur report said angry fans took out a mock funeral procession of the team members at Sarsaiya Ghat in Civil Lines. At the Mahil Degree College, girl students burnt effigies and raised slogans. There were protests in other parts of Kanpur also.

In Varanasi, anguished fans took out a mock funeral procession of the national team and immersed it in the Ganga at the Dashaswamedh ghat. Also, effigies and posters of Dravid's men were burnt, and other protests staged.

In Allahabad, fans, during procession in the Bairahana locality, "mourned Indian cricket's days of glory."

At other places, people blackened posters of Tendulkar and Dhoni, and burnt effigies of the team members and coach Greg Chappell.

Angry fans also lambasted the selection panel for dropping Mohammed Kaif, whose presence, they claimed, would have made a lot of difference.

"Meek surrender"

At Lotus School in Ahmedabad's Isanpur locality, a group of cricket enthusiasts staged demonstrations protesting the "meek surrender to Sri Lanka." The protesters carried posters, which criticised the cricketers for not concentrating on the game and for "minting money through advertisements."

The irate fans also raised slogans against BCCI president Sharad Pawar and Chappell. Members of the group slapped the posters of cricketing icons with slippers before burning them.

Irate supporters parade a pair of donkeys adorned with posters of ace Indian cricketers in Ahmedabad.

Another group of youth, which gathered at the Gujarat College, took out a mock funeral procession and burnt effigies.

Tonsure protest

In Kolkata, distraught fans wept and tonsured their heads near Sourav Ganguly's house at Behala, even as security was strengthened around his residence. "They let us down, we won't let their portraits pollute any place in the city," said an angry fan at Kalighat, where portraits of the cricket stars put up ahead of the tournament were tarred.

Stone-pelting

A Pune report quoting the police said a group threw stones at the restaurant, ZK's, owned by bowling spearhead Zaheer Khan at Lulla Nagar in the city early in the morning.

However, Zaheer Khan's brother Anish Khan, who looks after the restaurant, denied any such incident having taken place.

The Ranchi police posted armed personnel at Dhoni's house, being constructed in the city. His parents are staying in the house. On Sunday last some protesters dislodged bricks kept for construction and burnt an effigy of the cricketer to protest against his cheap dismissal in the match against Bangladesh.

In Jamshedpur, hundreds of cricket lovers burnt effigies of the team members at Sakchi and took out processions in the steel city. They demanded exclusion of senior players, who performed badly. The protesters alleged that Dhoni was busy endorsing commercial products in advertisements rather than concentrating on the game.

They made an abortive attempt to set ablaze an advertisement hoarding displaying Zaheer Khan and tore it down.

In Chandigarh, a PCR [police control room] vehicle was stationed outside Yuvraj Singh's house, and vigil was being maintained around Harbhajan Singh's newly-acquired property in the city, police sources said.

Security was also beefed up at Yuvraj's house in DLF enclave, Gurgaon in Haryana and at Harbhajan's residence in Kishanpura locality in Jalandhar, Punjab.

An armed policeman stands guard at skipper Rahul Dravid's house in Bangalore.

Protesters in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ambala burnt effigies and posters of team members.

In New Delhi, Bharatiya Janata Party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: "Our team should be a bit more serious about cricket because it is a passion in our country. But, at the same time, fans too should take it as a game and not as some sort of an addiction."

Fans disgusted

A report from Port of Spain said Indian fans, who had flown in from the U.S. and other Caribbean islands for India-Sri Lanka match, were disgusted with the team's performance. — PTI

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