Bhubaneswar: Moral policing took a new high in Rourkela in Orissa on Valentine s Day today when saffron brigade activists demanded that couples sitting in parks either marry on the spot or tie a rakhi .

Activists of the Bajrang Dal and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) raided all public parks in Rourkela "with vermilion on one hand a rakhi on the other".

Policemen were deployed in all the parks to avoid any untoward incident, said a senior officer of the department.

He said each activist group also carried one or two priests along with them. "They asked the pairs to marry on the spot instead of observing Valentine s Day which according to them was unethical and foreign culture."

However, nothing untoward happened as the lovers left the parks, he said.

According to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sarat Sahu, the saffron brigade here staged a demonstration before the show rooms of Hallmark and Archies in Bhubaneswar.

"We have deployed adequate number of police personnel at Indira Gandhi Park, Ekamra Kanan Park, Ekamra Haat Park and other sensitive dating places," Sahu said adding the day passed off without any incident.

Students of Saraswati Sishu Mandir, run by the Sangh Parivar, also staged a rally opposing celebration of Valentine s Day.

Source : PTI