New Delhi: Police in the Maldives used tear gas and pepper spray to control a crowd of people who disrupted a yoga event organized by the Indian High Commission, or embassy, in the capital Male on June 21 morning, an organizer said.
The crowd stormed a stadium where more than 150 people, including diplomats and government officers, were taking part in an event celebrating International Day of Yoga, attacking participants and vandalizing the property, one of the organizers, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak with the media, told Reuters.
Earlier, the protesters brandished placards proclaiming that yoga was against the tenets of Islam. Islam is the state religion in the Maldives, a group of islands in the Indian Ocean with a population of about half a million.
“An investigation has been launched by Maldivian Police into the incident that happened this morning at Galolhu stadium. This is being treated as a matter of serious concern and those responsible will be swiftly brought before the law,” Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said.
