Dibrugarh/Guwahati, June 10: Cinema halls across Assam turned into high-security zones with gun-toting police and paramilitary personnel positioned at the entrances and filmgoers being screened with metal detectors to avert a repeat of the grenade blast that rocked a hall in Tinsukia. Suspected Ulfa militants yesterday lobbed a grenade on viewers seated in the stalls of Tinsukia’s Paradise cinema hall at the start of the matinee show. As many as 21 were injured, one of whom died at Dibrugarh Medical College and Hospital today.
The government asked officials in all districts to convene meetings with cinema hall owners and review the security arrangements. Rattled by the blast, people stayed away from cinemas in Tinsukia. The commercial town has four cinema halls, while the district has 31.
Most halls have been incurring heavy losses in spite of defying the Ulfa-imposed ban on screening Hindi films with effect from November 15 last year. “We were already down and yesterday’s incident was like the final nail in the coffin. We do not know what to do,” Manik Das, the manager of Rangghar in Tinsukia town, said over phone.
There were no shows in Paradise today with security personnel continuing the investigation into the blast.
Hall manager Promod Bhattacharjee said it was almost impossible to frisk viewers before each show everyday. “People come to the movies for entertainment. They will be scared if we adopt stricter measures, and it is also not feasible since there is very little time in between shows. We will need an hour’s gap in between shows if we have to carry out all security rituals.”
Deputy inspector-general of police (east zone) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta inspected the blast site last evening and instructed the hall staff to be more vigilant. The government later sent inspector-general of police (law and order) D.K. Pathak to Tinsukia to take stock of the situation.
In the five cinema halls of adjacent Dibrugarh town, security was tighter than usual, though managers complained about the financial implications of installing metal detectors. “The police have asked us to install metal detectors at the entrances, but it is not financially feasible for us. We are already facing massive losses,” Arup Biswas, manager of Naina hall, said.
Another cinema hall, Aurora, changed its film schedule following the Tinsukia blast. “We were scheduled to show Hawas (a recently-released film) from tomorrow, but cancelled it because of the situation. We will screen any old Hindi movie that will not be a financial burden,” an employee said.
Security in Guwahati halls was intensified, too, with additional policemen being deployed in those screening Hindi films. City SP Hiren Nath said hall employees must be careful not to let in anyone whose behaviour even remotely induces suspicion.