A reading session centred on Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai’s memoir I Am Malala turned violent in Ahmedabad on Thursday evening after a group of people claiming to be right-wing activists confronted participants, police said on Friday.
Police have arrested three people in connection with the incident at Vastrapur Garden, a police official said.
Vastrapur police inspector G.M. Chaudhary said about 20 people, including women, had gathered at the public garden for the reading when a group of around 18 to 20 men arrived and questioned their decision to read Yousafzai’s memoir.
The confrontation escalated as participants were leaving the venue, with the alleged attackers carrying sticks, the official said. Two people were injured in the ensuing scuffle.
“An FIR has been registered. Two of the accused were known to the victims. Six others have been identified and three people have been arrested so far,” Chaudhary said.
The group claimed links to the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), she said.
Police registered a case under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to rioting, unlawful assembly and causing hurt.
The incident comes weeks after a private school in Ahmedabad removed books by Yousafzai and Holocaust survivor Anne Frank from its compulsory reading list following protests by right-wing groups.
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