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Kanwariyas vandalise car, thrash driver in Haridwar; cops deny communal angle
Kanwariyas in Haridwar vandalized a car and attacked the driver after it hit one of their kanwars.
Kanwariyas overturned and vandalised a car and thrashed its driver after it hit one of the kanwars in Haridwar.
The incident took place in the Manglaur area on July 10.
Two people have been arrested for alleged involvement in violence.
The police, however, didn’t reveal the identification of those arrested.
In a video of the incident, which is going viral on social media, the Kanwariyas (devotees of Lord Shiva) first forcefully evicted the driver and a burqa-clad woman sitting on the front passenger seat, then overturned the car before vandalising it with sticks.
In another video, the Kanwariyas could be seen thrashing the driver.
In the video, some policemen could also be seen at the spot, taking no action to stop the kanwariyas.
Haridwar Police, however, denied any communal angle in the incident and said the driver of the vehicle wasn’t a Muslim but a Hindu and the burqa-clad woman accompanying him in the car was known to him.
Hardiwar Senior Superintendent of Police Ajai Singh said, “A video of Kanwariyas getting violent and vandalising a car after it brushes with a kanwar in Manglaur area on July 10 is doing round on social. It is now being claimed on social media that an elderly couple belonging to a particular community (Muslim) was riding in the car and police took no action in this regard. It is not true.”
He said, “The incident has no connection to any community. A case has been registered on the complaint of the owner of the damaged car who has been identified as local resident Pratap Singh. The miscreants who indulged in violence are being identified.”
The police “anti-social elements” are spreading misleading facts without knowing about the truth and strict action will be taken against such people.
Another police official who didn’t wish to be named said, “The burqa-clad woman was known to the driver."
On July 4, four “kanwariyas” were arrested for allegedly assaulting a local resident in Tehri Garhwal, a police official said.
On July 2, the Narendranagar police station received information that some “outsiders” assaulted a local man near Agrakhal on the Rishikesh-Uttarkashi road.
The accused were identified as Amar Kumar, Aman Kumar, residents of Punjabi Basti, Civil Lines in Delhi, and Kishan and Suraj, residents of Majnu Ka Tila in Delhi.
On the complaint of victim Kamal Singh Rawat’s wife Chamni Devi, a case in this regard was registered against them under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), and 427 (Mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Narendranagar police station.
