HONG KONG, Feb 14: Hearts and flowers took a back seat to handcuffs, angry protests and text messages on Thursday as Asia celebrated a volatile Valentine’s Day.

Passions were running highest in India where hardline Hindu activists attempted to disrupt celebrations in Mumbai, calling on the government to ban the traditional day of lovers as a corrupting Western influence.

This year some 60 members of Mumbai’s ruling Shiv Sena party gathered in New Delhi to protest, waving placards, shouting slogans and ripping up Valentine’s Day cards.

Another hardline Hindu group, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), warned young women against accepting Valentine’s Day cards.

“It is not at all possible to express one’s love through greeting cards, as love is the language of the heart and only those who don’t know it will send greeting cards,” VHP general secretary Praveen Togadia said.

Young lovers hoping to steal a few moments of illicit pleasure in Thailand were more likely to have their pulses set racing by a brush with the law on Valentine’s Day as special vice-busting teams were deployed to crack down on underage sex.

Up to 500 police were mounting patrols at 21 targeted sites, including shopping centres and motels, to prevent “unpleasant incidents”, according to the education ministry.

“We will give them a warning if they are found smoking, drinking or carrying out other inappropriate public acts such as kissing and hugging,” he said.

In Hong Kong, where a recent survey showed that most people thought shopping was a more preferable pastime to sex, Valentine’s Day was also proving a bit of a letdown.—AFP