Actor Satish Kaushik's 5 theatres torched in Itanagar violence (With Curfew in Itanagar, 1 killed in violence over PRC row, 50 IIFF delegates evacuated)

Five theatres that actor Satish Kaushik is associated with were burnt in the protests that rocked Arunachal Pradesh capital Itanager on Friday night against the government move to grant permanent residency certificates (PRCs) to certain categories of people.

"I am associated with five theatres named Picture Time. I am a promoter. I got a call this (Saturday) morning from the owner, Sushil Choudhary, that our five theatres were burnt," Kaushik told IANS on the phone while being evacuated to Guwahati along with 50 other delegates to the first Itanagar International Film Festival, which was cancelled after the violence erupted.

"I reached yesterday (Friday) and went to the hotel. I was supposed to get ready for the evening function... But they (organisers) said 'hold on' there is some problem ... The event could not take place due to protests. The protesters were on a rampage and pelting stones. We couldn't make it to the convention centre.

"There was a fire. We got stuck. We thought we'd leave in the morning but we got stuck."

"We crossed the border with the help of an IAS officer. He sent people and about 10-12 vehicles for us. Then we crossed the (Arunachal Pradesh) border," Kaushik added.

--IANS

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