Police detain Shiv Sena workers protesting against Ghulam Ali

Ahmedabad: Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali on Friday received the ‘Hanumant Award’ from a religious trust, even as police foiled the bid by Shiv Sena activists to stage protest outside the venue of the event at Talgajarda village in Bhavnagar district. “Around 10 members of the saffron party were briefly detained for trying to stage protests against the Pakistani singer,” said Mahuva police inspector VS Manjaria. Ali received the award for his contribution in the field of singing from Chitrakut Dham Trust run by spiritual preacher Morari Bapu. [caption id=“attachment_2744126” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali. Getty Images[/caption] “He left soon after receiving the award in morning. With this award ceremony, the four-day-long ‘Asmita Parv’ (19-22 April) ended today,” said a member of the organising committee of the Trust. Interestingly, the singer was supposed to perform at the ‘Asmita Parv’ on its opening day on 19 April, but according to the Trust his visit stood cancelled at the last moment due to ‘unavoidable circumstances’. In morning, a handful of Sena activists gathered outside the venue, which is around 5 kilometres from Mahuva, said Manjaria. “We had already made adequate security arrangements and detained all of them before they could create any trouble. The award ceremony lasted for few hours. We released these activists after Ghulam Ali left the venue,” the officer said. The Trust had announced awards for Ali and nine other famous personalities associated with various fields of art on concluding day of the event. The Trust had chosen Ali and five others for ‘Hanumant Award’ and film actor Dharmendra along with three other artists for ‘Natraj Award’ for their contribution in their chosen field. However, Dharmendra could not attend the function on health grounds.