In a bizarre incident, people wearing black clothes were allegedly denied entry to a programme of Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in Balasore on Thursday.
People wearing black caps, black shawls, jackets and girls with black ‘dupattas’ were not given entry, reports said. The irony, people with black helmets had to go through the brunt of the police and security personnel.
Police deployed for security strictly prohibited people with all black things from entering the venue. Most of them had to leave behind their black belongings outside the venue to get entry. Even women had to leave behind their black dupatta back to be present at the ceremony.
The incident sparked outrage in the area. Locals expressed resentment over the bizarre reason for boycotting black materials. However, the reason for the sudden hate for black or ‘fear’ of black has raised serious speculations.
A local said, “Even I don’t know why they are forcing people to leave behind anything in black. They asked me to remove my black jacket and I have no other option. They are not giving any reasons for the bizarre orders. I fear I will not get back my jacket again if I leave it here now.”
Similarly, another local said, “Police are not allowing black helmets into the venue. How can I leave it here?”
Similarly, two women said that they were asked not to take any black things inside the venue.
“We were carrying black shawls due to the cold, but they are not allowing it inside. They will only allow clothes of other colors, but not black. We are clueless about the reason,” the woman said.