THE TIMES OF INDIA

Sooraj Barjatya and Salman Khan's Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is packed with values and traditions. Taking advantage of the same, Bihar Police had organised a screening of the film for children in a bid to dissuade them from joining the violent movement, reports Indiatoday.in. According to a report, majority of the kids who were shown the film, are orphans who had lost their parents to the Maoist violence over the years and are considered as soft targets of the ultra-left extremist groups. Aspiring to spread the message that knowledge is more powerful than bullets, Gaya police organised a screening of Salman Khan's film for about 100 children and their guardians and interacted with them at a local theatre, the report concluded.
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Bollywood superstar Salman Khan's latest blockbuster Prem Ratan Dhan Payo, which is based on good, old family values, appears to be helping the Bihar Police win over the children from the Maoist-hit villages in a bid to dissuade them from joining the violent movement.

Aspiring to spread the message that knowledge is more powerful than bullets in the dozens of remote villages in the densely-forested areas, Gaya police oraganised a screening of Salman Khan's film for 100-odd children and their guardians and interacted with them at a local theatre on Sunday.

Majority of the children are orphans who lost their parents to the Maoist violence over the years and are considered soft targets of the ultra-left extremist groups.

Gaya's Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manu Maharaj, who took the initiative under the 'Operation Vishwas (Trust)' launched as a confidence-building measure, said it was a bid to prevent kids from taking up arms. "We will raise the awareness about the importance of education in order to stamp out the influence of Maoists in the area," he said.

Children, who enjoyed the movie at a theatre in Gaya, had come to the city for the first time. "We wanted to show them that there was a life beyond the forests too," he said.

Police officials told the kids that Gaya has been the land of knowledge and nonviolence where violence had no role. He said that the policemen were always there to help the villagers and there was no need to fear them.

Gaya police officials, who also distributed books and other study material among the children, believed that such measures would go a long way in building bridges between the law enforcement agencies and the residents of the Maoist-infested villages. They said that the image of the police was invariably projected in a negative manner in these villages but such meetings and interactive sessions might help dispel such notions. The SSP said that the police would extend all the help to those who would shun the path of violence and return to the mainstream. "But those resorting to violence would be sternly dealt with," he added.

INDIA TODAY