SHARJAH: The police were called out to control crowds at the Safeer Mall in the UAE last evening where Salman Khan was to open a shoe outlet. Sharjah Police had to use teargas to disperse the huge crowd. The actor was forced to leave without cutting the ribbon.

According to the event organiser, a sea of people could be seen waiting in the mall from as early as 4pm to catch a glimpse of their favourite actor.

The Red Tape outlet in Safeer Mall was to be officially opened by Salman Khan at 8.30pm yesterday. However, the huge crowd gathered both outside and within the mall prevented the actor from entering the venue for over half an hour. The elevators in the mall were jammed and the crowd broke down the shutter of the shop just to get a glimpse of Salman, who, after great difficulty, managed to reach the mall and the outlet located on its first level.

The organisers go on to say, although Salman had left the mall within a few minutes of his arrival at 9pm, the crowd refused to believe that their favourite actor had left the venue. A fight broke out among the public in which several were injured. The crowd also tried to attack the actor in their frenzy to reach out to him, sources said, adding, the actor escaped unhurt.