Public and VIPs treated differently at Lalbaugcha Raja: Complaint to Mumbai Police

Devotees gathered in large numbers for darshan of Lord Ganesha at Lalbaugcha Raja

Bombay:

Two lawyers from the Bombay High Court have filed a complaint with the Mumbai police over what they claim is the differential treatment of common people and VIPs when they come to offer prayers at the feet of Lord Ganesha at Lalbaugcha Raja.

A video showing pandal staff pushing people while they were offering prayers at the feet of Lord Ganesh has gone viral on social media. Behind the staff, another group of people were seen standing calmly and smiling in front of the cameras. The pandal staff did not ask them to leave immediately or push them.

“During darshan, children, women, elderly and differently-abled persons are discriminated against… Common citizens are abused, insulted and beaten by managers and employees… Such a system is extremely wrong,” lawyers Ashish Rai and Pankajkumar Mishra said in the complaint filed with the Mumbai police.

Such treatment of common people happens year after year during the darshan of Lord Ganesha at Lalbaugcha Raja, the lawyers said.

I won’t be surprised if Lalbaugcha Raja Pandal is declared VIP only in future. The treatment is very visible in a single image.

It is high time that the Mumbai Police takes charge of crowd management, otherwise it will gradually lose its importance among the general public.

📹 Reddit pic.twitter.com/kV6clamdsl

– Karthik Nadar (@runkarthikrun) September 12, 2024

Devotees gathered in large numbers for darshan and offered prayers on Saturday. Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Sudesh Dhankhar, BJP national chief JP Nadda and Union ministers Piyush Goyal and Bhupendra Yadav were among the leaders who offered prayers on Saturday.

The iconic idol of Lord Ganesh, housed at the Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, is a central attraction during this vibrant festival, drawing thousands of devotees.

On September 5, the first glimpse of this year’s Lalbaugcha Raja was unveiled. The story of Lalbaugcha Raja is well known as it is the popular idol of Lord Ganesh of Lalbaugcha Raja Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Mandal, located in Putlabai Chawl, a place of worship established in 1934.

The idol and its celebrations are managed by the Kambli family, custodians of this revered image for over 80 years.