`Form incomplete': Police denies nod to college theatre event in Saket mall

Organizers admit lapses in permission procedure
Theatre groups from various Delhi colleges were left disappointed after the police refused permission to the members of Vayam Performing Arts Society to hold their festival, Malang, at Select Citywalk Mall in Saket. According to the cops, however, the group hadn't completed the formalities required for taking permission to host the event. The organisers admitted to lapses on their part, and also added that they were told that the area in which the programme was happening was a sensitive one. Members of the theatre groups of Gargi College, Sri Venkateswara College and College of Vocational Studies arrived at the mall at 4pm on Monday for their performances, but had to return after waiting for over two hours, when it became clear that the event would not be taking place. Here's what happened.

WE WERE TOLD IT'S A SENSITIVE AREA: ORGANIZERS

Prateek Bedi, the organizer of the event and treasurer of Vayam, said, "They wanted the details of the event. We admit that we were not proactive. We've been holding this event for the last five days at different locations, but everything else went smoothly. There are two kinds of permissions that one needs - from the mall authorities and from the police. The mall authorities told us that if the police permission comes through, we'll be able to host the event. Till Saturday, we'd been told verbally that permission will be given on Monday. We thought that we'd get permission at the last moment.

We couldn't reach the SHO, who was in a meeting. The member of our group who had applied for permission had to go back to Haryana because of personal issues and his number wasn't reachable. We ran to the DCP's office, but it didn't come through. They told us that the location is on high alert and last-minute permission won't be possible."

PERMISSION DENIED DUE TO SAFETY REASONS: POLICE

A cop from the Saket police station told us, "They didn't fill the complete form. The person whose number was given on the form couldn't be reached. They didn't specify the kind of programme they were holding - the occasion, the content of the event. Nobody turned up to ask for permission till Monday morning. Jis aadmi ke naam se permission apply kari jaati hai, uska ID proof lagta hai. Na uska ID proof tha, aur uska phone number bhi galat tha. Jiska naam likha tha as the person to be held responsible, usse phone kiya toh woh bola ki main toh shehar mein hoon hi nahin. We have to main tain law and order and see that all formalities are completed. The permission is given by the DCP's office and we recommend whether permission is to be given or not. But when they didn't even complete all the formalities, how could the DCP's office give permission? We also provide our personnel for events, but if we don't know the nature of the programme, how will we ensure the safety of the people who are part of it?"