Women thrashed for not giving chanda

On the 4th day of Navratri, while the revel ers across city were busy upping thefes tive spirit, a group of goons at Vadaj was busy displaying their strengthto collect chanda (donation) by bashing two women. The women -Asha Dayama (32)and Sarla Kishori Tavar (40) -were beaten up by local goons for denying to payRs-5,000 as Navratri chanda.

At around 12.30pm on Friday, Kashinath Patel, a goon running bootlegging business, went to the duo's house along with 10 others to collect chanda. On refusal to pay, they allegedly began hitting them. However, Tavar claimed, “Despite paying chanda twice, they demanded Rs-5,000 for Navratri. When I refused, they started arguing and began trashing me. When I fell down, they started kicking me in my stomach. For help, I dialed 100, and afraid of cops they fled away.“

Here in our city… GODS UNITE ALL

A day after Somnath Temple banned the entry of non-Hindus without permission,Mirror's Kuldeep Tiwari and Rupsa Chakraborty visited the temples in the cityposing as a Muslim couple. To their surprise, they were warmly welcomed notonly by the temple staff and the security guards but also by the devotees.This, in a city that saw one of the worst communal riots in the country in 2002and earned itself the ignominy of being religiously intolerant

BHADRAKALI TEMPLE

LAL DARWAZA

When the reporters arrived at the temple posing as a Muslim couple who had come to seek the goddess's blessings, a group of women cops got up and welcomed them. The reporters found it quite surprising. The cops took them inside the temple, and requested the priest to offer them the prasad. Citing security reasons, a woman cop asked our reporter to lift her veil. “This is just part of routine check. Please do not take any offence. Everyone is welcome here. Do come again,“ said the cop. She also familiarised the duo with the temple's rich heritage before seeing them off with a smile.