18 detained for protesting against Pak singers' participation

Police today detained 18 persons, claiming to be Shiv Sainiks, for protesting outside the city's Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts where Pakistani sufi singers were to perform at a music festival.

The Delhi unit of Shiv Sena had earlier threatened to disrupt the two-day Sindhi Sufi Music Festival if musicians from Pakistan were allowed to perform, following which the organisers had sought police protection.

The protesters reached the venue on Janpath to stage a protest but were detained by the police and were taken to Parliament Street police station, police said.

Organisers said the same group had tried to disrupt the event last year as well.
 

Today was the second day of the music festival, organised by the Department of Art, Culture and Languages and Sindhi Academy.