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Ban on Kanwariyas carrying trishuls, hockey sticks during yatra in UP: Report
A senior UP Police official has reportedly said that weapons display, even if symbolic, won't be tolerated on the Kanwar Yatra routes.
Kanwariyas have reportedly been ordered against carrying hockey sticks, tridents (trishuls) and similar items as they undertake the Kanwar Yatra in parts of Uttar Pradesh. In an attempt to curb noise pollution, the administration has also banned the use of bikes without silencers on the yatra's routes.
The development comes in light of increased cases of vandalism and assault on Kanwar Yatra routes. A senior UP Police official has reportedly said that weapons display, even if symbolic, won't be tolerated.
"The government has issued clear directives prohibiting it. We are enforcing these strictly, and FIRs are being registered against violators," ADG (Meerut Zone) Bhanu Bhaskar was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
The publication reports that the new orders will be in place on Kanwar Yatra routes in Meerut, Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Saharanpur, Bulandshahr and Hapur districts.
Violence on Kanwar Yatra routes
Incidents of vandalism and violence have been reported on Kanwar Yatra routes over the past week. Most recently, seven Kanwariyas were arrested for the alleged assault of a CRPF jawan at the Mirzapur railway station.
Viral videos showed the jawan being pinned to the ground by men wearing orange clothes, and being punched and kicked. "Seven Kanwariyas have been arrested in the case of beating up a CRPF jawan," an official later said.
Before that, a home guard, a security guard and a student volunteer were assaulted in Kanpur after a ruckus during Kanwar Yatra. While some reports claimed the assault was carried out by Kanwariyas, the FIR registered in the case did not mention so, reported news agency PTI.
Five people were arrested in connection with the case.
Days prior to this case, a group of Kanwariyas, after allegedly being hit by a bus, broke glass panes of the vehicle and beat up the driver in Meerut.
With PTI inputs
