Bajrang Dal activists attack readers in Ahmedabad over Malala, Anne Frank books

Two people suffered minor injuries in the incident. “On Thursday evening, a group had gathered at AUDA Garden for a book-reading session when they were confronted by around 20 people carrying sticks, who said they were associated with the VHP and Bajrang Dal. They questioned the group about reading books by Malala Yousafzai and Anne Frank, following which an altercation took place. Two people suffered minor injuries and three persons have been arrested,” Vastrapur police station inspector Geeta Chaudhari said.

The participants had gathered to read Yousafzai’s I Am Malala and Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl, along with books by other writers. The session was organised amid a controversy over the inclusion of the two books in the reading programme of a reputed private school in Ahmedabad.

Based on a complaint by Jaykumar Natvarlal (30), an FIR was registered for rioting and unlawful assembly, among other charges, under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).