Varanasi: The Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday, April 7, arrested the main accused after a group of men was seen drinking beer and dancing to loud DJ music on a boat passing through the Ganga River in Varanasi.
Arjun Rajbhar from Nagwa, a prominent residential area in Varanasi, was arrested under Sections 352 (intentional insults intended to provoke a breach of peace) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation) of the BNS.
Rajbhar’s video of consuming beer in a semi-nude state and partying on the holy waters with others went viral on social media on April 6, prompting action.
Reacting to the incident, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi compared the incident to the Muslim youth who were apprehended for eating chicken biryani and discarding the waste in the Ganga river.
“This consumption of Alcohol is allowed? It doesn’t hurts —— feelings? ,& it doesn’t disrupts social harmony? it doesn’t causes public nuisance?it doesn’t violates Water Act? And ruling party will not give a complaint also? 14 Muslim boys are still incarcerated in jail,” the MP wrote on X.
The youth were subsequently denied bail and booked under several charges, including extortion. Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Rajat Jaiswal filed a complaint alleging that non-veg food on the Ganga River deeply hurts the religious sentiments of the Hindu community.
