Fourteen people have been arrested in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, on charges of outraging religious feelings and defiling a place of worship, after a video purportedly showing them consuming chicken biryani during an Iftar party on a boat in the Ganges River went viral on social media.
The incident occurred on Monday, and action was taken based on a written complaint filed by Rajat Jaiswal, City President of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) in Varanasi, at the Kotwali police station.
In his complaint, Jaiswal alleged that an Iftar party was organised on a boat in the Ganga, during which chicken biryani was consumed, and leftover bones were thrown into the river. He emphasised the deep religious significance of the river for Hindus, stating that the Ganga holds deep and unshakeable faith for Hindus, with thousands of devotees from across the country and the world visiting Kashi every day to perform rituals and offer prayers using Ganga water.
He argued that eating biryani on a boat in the middle of the river and throwing its leftovers into the water is completely inappropriate, and that this act appears to have been done with the intention of hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus.
Following the complaint, police formed an investigation team. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vijay Pratap Singh confirmed that a viral video from Monday showed a group of people having an Iftar party on a boat and consuming biryani. Multiple teams were formed to investigate the incident, and so far, 14 people have been identified and arrested, with efforts ongoing to locate the remaining individuals.
The FIR includes charges under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class, deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc, and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony, committing public nuisance, and fouling the water of a public spring or reservoir.
Sections of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, have also been added, which prohibits knowingly throwing poisonous, harmful, or polluting matter into rivers.
While condemning the boat Iftar, SM Yasin, Joint Secretary of the Anjuman Intezamia Mosque Committee in Varanasi, raised counter-allegations, stating there is no doubt that this FIR has been filed against Muslims to exploit them. He added that iftar is a religious act, not a picnic, and that Maghrib prayers are meant to be offered immediately after.
