The Haridwar Police have booked a Muslim youth for selling chicken eggs at Har Ki Pauri, a sacred ghat on the banks of river Ganga on allegations of hurting Hindu religious sentiments.
The locals saw him selling the eggs at the Ghar and handed him over to the police on Friday evening.
The police said that the youth, identified as Nizamuddin (27), son of Safeek, is a resident of village Ganjewali from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district.
He was found selling eggs secretly in a basket near the Nai Ghat Bhagirathi Bridge under the Har Ki Pauri area, which is a prohibited zone for non-vegetarian food items.
Sale of meat, fish and eggs are banned in Haridwar. In 2004, the Supreme Court upheld the Uttarakhand government’s move to make holy towns Haridwar, Rishikesh and Muni Ki Reti free from non-vegetarian food.
Nizamuddin claimed that he was unaware of the prohibition. However, the police did not believe his statement and registered a case against him under serious sections. The police also seized five carat eggs from his possession.
Ganga Sabha, a religious body that manages the affairs of the ghat, accused the boy of deliberately selling eggs and hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindus. The religious body demanded strict action against him.
The religious body also blamed the Haridwar police for failing to protect the holy city from the youths of a particular community, who have disguised themselves to run a langar or distribute prasad at times.
