Varanasi court denies bail to 14 men arrested over iftar on Ganga boat
Varanasi: A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi on Monday rejected the bail pleas of fourteen Muslim men arrested for allegedly hosting an iftar gathering on a boat in the Ganga, observing that the offences invoked against them were “serious in nature” and non-bailable.
According to a Bar&Bench report, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Amit Kumar Yadav declined relief to Azad Ali, Aamir Kaiki, Danish Saifi, Mohd. Ahmad, Nehal Afridi, Mahfooz Alam, Mohd. Anas, Mohd. Awwal, Mohd. Tahseem, Mohd. Ahmad alias Raja, Mohd. Noor Ismail, Mohd. Tausif Ahmad, Mohd. Faizan and Mohd. Sameer.
“The crimes committed by the accused were of a serious nature and non-bailable. Therefore, keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case, there are no sufficient grounds to grant bail to the accused,” the court said in its order.
The case arose after videos purportedly showing the men breaking their fast on a boat in the river went viral on social media. An FIR was later registered on a complaint by Rajat Jaiswal, city unit president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. In the complaint he alleged that the act had hurt religious sentiments, claiming that chicken biryani was consumed on the boat and leftovers were thrown into the river.
The accused were initially booked under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, including Sections 298 (defiling a place of worship), 299 (deliberate acts to outrage religious feelings), 196(1)(B) (promoting enmity), 270 (public nuisance), 279 (fouling water), and 223(B) (disobedience of orders by a public servant). Section 24 of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 was also invoked.
Police later added Section 308(5) of the BNS, relating to extortion under threat of death or grievous hurt, after boat owners alleged that the vessel had been forcibly taken. The accused were also charged under Section 67 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which penalises the transmission of allegedly obscene material in electronic form.
The court remanded the men to 14 days of judicial custody on March 19, following which they were lodged in Varanasi District Jail.
During the bail hearing, defence counsel argued that the accused were law-abiding citizens who had been falsely implicated due to personal enmity. It was also submitted that no meat items were recovered and that the viral video did not show any consumption of meat.
Opposing the plea, Assistant Prosecutor Deepak Kumar contended that the charges were grave and carried a potential punishment of up to ten years’ imprisonment. He said the investigation was ongoing and that the defence claims could not be assessed at this stage.
The prosecution further informed the court that a separate FIR had been registered based on allegations that persons linked to the accused had issued death threats to the complainant.
In addition, Jaiswal lodged another complaint at Sigra Police Station invoking Section 308(5) of the BNS, alleging threats to his life, stating that he feared being lynched as he resides in a minority-dominated area. After hearing both sides and examining the case record, the court held that there were no sufficient grounds at this stage to grant bail.
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Himachal: Three killed, two injured as speeding car dashes against parked truck
Mandi (HP) (PTI): Three people were killed and two others sustained grievous injuries after a speeding car dashed against a stationary truck at Dadour near Nerchowk in Mandi district on Monday late at night, police said on Tuesday.
There were five people in the car when the tragedy struck. Three were declared dead in the hospital while two have been referred to AIIMS Bilaspur.
The deceased were identified as Anil Kumar (28), Rohit Kumar (26) and Subash Kumar (23), all residents of Mandi district, while the injured are Harish and Pankaj.
A case has been registered under relevant sections and investigations are underway, said Superintendent of Police (SP) Mandi Vinod Kumar.
He added that the bodies have been handed over to the family members of the deceased.
In a statement, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed grief over the loss of three lives in a road accident. He directed the district administration to ensure best possible treatment for the injured and wished them a speedy recovery.
