Members of a right-wing group forcibly entered a birthday party of a 20-year-old nursing student at a cafe in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh, leading to a violent assault on the guests. The incident took place on December 27 in the Prem Nagar area, and videos of the attack later went viral on social media.
The videos show more than a dozen men storming into the cafe and beating people who were attending the birthday celebration. Those present said the attack was sudden and completely unprovoked, and the police intervened only after the violence had already taken place.
One of the men seen leading the mob has been identified as Rishabh Thakur, who is linked to the Bajrang Dal and was reportedly expelled from the organisation around two weeks ago following disciplinary action.
In the immediate aftermath, the police action drew sharp criticism as cases were registered against the victims instead of the attackers. Two Muslim friends of the nursing student who were present at the party were booked for breach of peace, and a cafe staff member was also challaned at the Prem Nagar police station.
After strong backlash on social media, the police moved to register a case against those who disrupted the party and assaulted the guests. Bareilly Superintendent of Police City Manush Pareek said action was now being taken against the accused. “We have identified the people seen attacking inside the cafe and an FIR is being registered. We have sought an explanation from the concerned SHO on why action was not taken earlier. He informed us that the accused had fled. Strict action will be taken against the real culprits,” Pareek said.
An FIR was registered on December 28 at around 2 pm on the complaint of cafe owner Shailendra Gangwar. The case has been filed under sections related to criminal trespass and assault of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Rishabh Thakur, Deepak Pathak and around 20 unidentified persons.
The nursing student, who is a resident of Badaun district, told media that her birthday celebration was completely ruined. “They suddenly barged in during my birthday party and started accusing us of love jihad. There were only two Muslim friends present, while most of the guests were Hindus. They brutally assaulted my friends and some of them suffered fractures,” she said.
Police later stated that their inquiry found no basis to the love jihad allegation. Officials said the student had invited a small group of classmates, including six girls and four boys, for the celebration. Despite this, two Muslim boys and a cafe staffer were booked for breach of peace for allegedly disturbing public order.
Ashish Sharma, who identifies himself as the city gau raksha pramukh of the Bajrang Dal in Bareilly, claimed that while members of the outfit were present, they were not involved in the assault. “We received information that there were ten to twelve Muslim boys at a Hindu girl’s birthday party. Our workers reached the cafe and informed the police, after which the Muslim boys were detained,” he said.
Downplaying the violence, Sharma added, “The Hindu girl was not assaulted. The Muslim boys were slapped two or three times. Bajrang Dal members were not part of the assault.”
The nursing student rejected these claims and said the narrative being pushed online was misleading. “They crashed my birthday party and attacked my friend. The videos shared by right wing members only showed partial footage and not the full incident. The love jihad claim was completely false,” she told reporters.
