The Uttar Pradesh Police arrested more than a dozen people this week for eating chicken biryani on a boat in the Ganga. The incident has sparked backlash from several quarters — with many including Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra lashing out at the administration. The complaint was fied by a BJP Yuva Morcha city chief after a video of the incident surfaced on Monday.
“I, as a Hindu, am asking UP Police and Varanasi Police – Is a Hindu corpse, of flesh and bone, vegetarian or non-vegetarian? Till this question is answered, nobody under law can be arrested for eating chicken on the Ganges. Period,” the TMC MP wrote on X.
What is the case?
Fourteen people were arrested on charges of defiling a place of worship and hurting religious feelings after a video purportedly showed them participating in an Iftar meal. A Varanasi court sent them to judicial custody on Friday.
Action was taken following a written complaint by BJP Yuva Morcha leader Rajat Jaiswal. He alleged that an Iftar party was organised on a boat on the Ganga — during which chicken biryani was consumed. His lawyer claimed that the accused had threatened a boatman and forcibly taken him along before holding the party on his boat in the river.
The police also submitted a report to the court, citing the boatman’s statement and eyewitness accounts. Consequently, a plea was filed to add several additional charges against the accused, including kidnapping.
“The Ganga holds deep and unshakeable faith for the followers of Sanatan Dharma. Thousands of devotees from across the country and the world visit Kashi every day to perform rituals and offer prayers using Ganga water. In such a situation, eating biryani on a boat in the middle of the river and throwing its leftovers into the water is completely inappropriate. This act appears to have been done with the intention of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus,” Jaiswal claimed. |
