Bengaluru police say no to Sunny Leone’s New Year bash

Bengaluru, Dec 16 (IANS) Bengaluru Police Commissioner T. Suneel Kumar on Saturday denied permission to a New Year bash in the city where Bollywood cine star Sunny Leone has been invited to perform, ostensibly to "maintain law and order" and prevent any "untoward incident".

"We are denying permission for the Sunny Leone's musical show on December 31 night to maintain law and order and prevent any untoward incident in the city," Kumar told reporters here.

Though the event organiser - Time Creations is yet to approach police for permission to host the gala show with Leone and DJ All OK musical group at Manyata Tech Park in the city suburbs, the city police chief said it would not be possible to provide enough security at the venue as its entire force would be on duty across the city on the same night.

"In view of a directive from the Karnataka Higt Court on Friday to ensure peaceful New Year celebrations and prevent untoward incidents in the city, we will not be able to deploy enough force at one place at the risk of other areas," he said.

City-based lawyer R. Mohan had moved the High Court seeking ban on sale of alcohol across the state on December 31 to prevent drunken driving and nuisance by New Year revellers after consuming liquor.

"As the Bollywood star is popular and has a huge following, as evident from a massive gathering at Kochi (in Kerala) on her recent visit (in August), we have decided not to permit her to perform in the city on the New Year eve," said Kumar.

The decision against the 36-year-old former porn star also came a day after about 100 activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike had demonstrated on Friday at the venue against her presence in the show.

"It's surprising how the event management is selling tickets online without applying for our permission to conduct the event with Leone," said Kumar.

The Canadian-born Indian-American actress, model and singer, whose real name is Karenjit Kaur Vohra, entered Bollywood in 2012 and crooned item numbers in Hindi, Kannada and other Indian languages.