NEW DELHI, June 21: A Yoga camp organised by the Indian High Commission at Male, the capital city of Maldives, was attacked on Tuesday morning with the protesters shouting slogans that Yoga was against the tenets of Islam.
Police in the Maldives used tear gas and pepper spray to control the crowd of people who disrupted the yoga event organised by the Indian High Commission in Galolhu stadium in Male on the occasion of the International Yoga Day on Tuesday, an organiser said.
The crowd stormed the stadium where more than 150 people, including diplomats and government officers, were taking part in the event celebrating International Day of Yoga, attacking participants and vandalising the property. The protesters brandished placards proclaiming that yoga was against the tenets of Islam. Islam is the state religion in the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean with a population of about half a million.
Police responded with anti-riot measures and later used pepper spray and tear gas to control the crowd and secure the area, Superintendent of Police Fathmath Nashwa said. Six people have been arrested in connection with the incident, he added.
Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said a police investigation into the incident had begun. “This is being treated as a matter of serious concern and those responsible will be swiftly brought before the law,” Solih said on Twitter.
(Manas Dasgupta)