Lucknow, Oct. 6: Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui could not play Mareecha in Ramleela in Muzaffarnagar district yesterday following alleged opposition from some Hindu organisations.

A disappointed Nawazuddin told reporters that his participation at the event in his village, Budhana, was cancelled because of "unknown apprehensions".

"I am an admirer of Ram. This was the reason I was keen to play a role in Ramleela in my village. I rehearsed the whole day but could not perform on the stage in the evening. I would try to play this role in next year's Ramleela," he said.

Nawazuddin has found himself at the centre of a controversy after his sister-in-law, Afreen Begum, had named him in a police complaint on dowry harassment. Budhana police are probing the case.

Over a dozen fans of the actor had yesterday handed over a memorandum to the superintendent of police, Pradeep Gupta, claiming that he was innocent and should be allowed to perform in the Ramleela.

Nawazuddin had held a media conference two days ago and claimed that Afreen and her uncle Riyazuddin had fled the house with valuables and were making wild allegations against him. The actor has been camping in his village for over a week.

Vineet Katyan, the organiser of the Ramleela, and some artistes, met Nawazuddin at his residence last night and told him that the decision to keep him away from the stage was taken by the police in view of the law and order situation.

He said it was not possible for the police to manage over 10,000 people who had gathered there to watch him playing Mareecha, the uncle of Ravan, who transformed himself into deer to help his nephew kidnap Sita.

"People from all over the area had started assembling in Budhana from early morning. But some Hindu organisations were opposing his programme. We asked the Budhana Ramleela committee to cancel his programme to avoid any clash in the festival season," said a police office.

But Sudhir Kumar Tomar, the circle police officer of Budhana, said: "It was the decision of the Ramleela committee to cancel his participation. The actor belongs to the area and it was his idea to play a role in Ramleela. We have heard that Shiv Sena and some other organisations were opposing him."

Mukesh Sharma, a local Shiv Sena leader, said: "Nawazuddin is involved in torturing his own sister-in-law. We cannot allow such a man on the stage of Ramleela. We have not heard of any tainted person playing a role in this 50-year-old Ramleela."