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14 arrested for holding Iftar party on boat in river Ganga after video goes viral
BJYM's Varanasi president lodged a complaint at Kotwali police station, alleging that the act was deliberate, intended to hurt Hindu sentiments.
An Iftar party aboard a Ganga river boat spiralled into a major controversy in Varanasi on Tuesday, leading to the arrest of 14 youths after a video allegedly showed them discarding chicken biryani remnants into the sacred waters.
“A video went viral on Monday, purportedly showing a group of people holding an Iftar party on a boat on the Ganga and consuming biryani during the gathering,” Vijay Pratap Singh, additional commissioner of police (ACP), on Tuesday said.
Rajat Jaiswal, Varanasi city unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), lodged a complaint at Kotwali police station, alleging that the act was deliberate, intended to hurt Hindu sentiments. “This act has hurt religious sentiments,” he stated.
A case was registered under sections 298 (defiling a place of worship), 299 (malicious act with intent to outrage religious feelings), 196(1)(B) (promoting enmity), 270 (public nuisance), 279 (fouling water of a public spring or water reservoir), and 223(B) (disobedience of an order duly promulgated by a public servant) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with section 24 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. “Based on the complaint, a case was registered. Two teams were formed to ensure arrest. So far, 14 people have been arrested; further legal action is being taken,” the ACP said.
Police said Kotwali station team located the alleged participants near Gaighat. Acting on information, officers matched photos in the viral video with individuals at the location.
SM Yaseen, Anjuman Intezamia Masajid Committee’s joint secretary, criticised the youths: “It came to light that certain ignorant individuals were hosting a roza iftar on a boat. Iftar is a purely religious observance; it is neither a social outing nor a picnic. It is mandatory to offer the Maghrib prayers immediately after Iftar. Therefore, hosting roza iftar on board a boat is against the religion. There is no place for such an act.”
