A sessions court in Varanasi has denied bail to 14 Muslim men accused of consuming chicken during iftar on a boat along the ghats of the River Ganges and allegedly throwing leftovers into the river.
Judge Alok Kumar, while rejecting the bail plea on Wednesday, observed that the act appeared to be aimed at disturbing communal harmony, especially since a video of the incident was shared online.
“Posting the said video on social media prima facie proves that the incident was committed with the objective of affecting social harmony,” the court said in its order.
Case registered after viral video
The case dates back to March 15, when videos surfaced on social media allegedly showing the accused breaking their Ramadan fast with chicken and discarding the remains into the river. The clips quickly went viral, prompting police action.
An FIR was registered against 14 individuals, including Azad Ali, Aamir Kaiki, Danish Saifi and others, under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to hurting religious sentiments, promoting enmity, public nuisance and pollution.
Charges were also invoked under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
Additional charges and allegations
Police later added more serious charges after boat owners Anil Sahani and Ranjan Sahani alleged that the accused had forcibly taken their boat.
The complaint in the case was filed by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha city president Rajat Jaiswal, who claimed that the act hurt religious sentiments and described it as offensive.
Defence arguments rejected
The defence counsel argued that the complainant was not an eyewitness and questioned the evidence, saying police had failed to recover the alleged chicken remains from the spot.
However, the court rejected these arguments, noting that the circulation of the video increased the seriousness of the case, particularly given the timing close to Eid and other festivals.
Earlier, a lower court had also denied bail to the accused on March 23.
