Had cramps: Woman accused of 'disrespecting' Anthem

A woman bullied for not standing up for the national anthem at a movie hall has claimed that she had leg cramps.

In her complaint, the 32-year-old sought action against people who abused and threatened her and four of her friends.

On October 23, Sumitra S, a Chennai native, went with her friends to watch the movie 'Asuran' at 10 pm at PVR cinema in Orion Mall.

When the national anthem played, Sumitra could not stand up since she had cramps and her friends checked on her condition. A group that sat before her picked a quarrel during the interval, abusing and threatening Sumitra and her friends, though she explained her condition.

The group shot video of them abusing the five, calling them terrorists and Pakistanis, while also issuing a warning that they would inform the police regarding their disrespect of the national anthem. They did not stop despite Sumitra complaining to the security staff. Feeling unsafe, she finally left the mall with her friends.

Learning that the police had taken a suo motu complaint, Sumitra came from Chennai and filed a complaint with the police seeking action on the group for intentional insult and criminally intimidating her.