Iftar on the Ganga: Police now charge 14 arrested men with extortion

On Thursday, the accused were produced before the court, during which the police apprised the court that extortion charges had been invoked against them. The prosecution also placed the case diary and other relevant police records on record. On consideration of the material presented, the court sent them to judicial custody until April 1.

The motorboat is owned by 65-year-old Kashi Sahani, whose statement has been recorded by the police. ACP Singh said the extortion charge was invoked based on statements by Kashi Sahani’s son, Anil Sahani, and his relative, Ranjan Sahani.

Speaking to The Indian Express on Thursday, Kashi had said his boat was hired by a local resident, Naju Yadav (40), on Sunday evening to ferry passengers. According to him, Yadav returned after about 45 minutes and handed back the keys. Kashi claimed that at the time, he had no knowledge of what had transpired.

He said Yadav had hired his boat on previous occasions as well to take customers for rides.

Naina Sahani, Kashi’s daughter, who said she was present when the motorboat was hired on Sunday, had told The Indian Express that the fare was initially fixed at Rs 100 per passenger. However, after some negotiation, both sides agreed to a lump-sum payment of Rs 1,800 for the entire boat.

Mohammad Shameem, whose sons Mohammad Tahseem and Azad Ali are among the accused, alleged that the police have booked the 14 on false charges without gathering proper evidence. He said that the youths did not throw any bones or waste into the river.

The bail applications filed by the arrested men are pending in court.

On Tuesday, the Varanasi police swung into action after a video of the incident began circulating on social media. According to officials, the footage was allegedly uploaded by the men themselves, which helped bring the matter to light.

Acting on a complaint filed by Jaiswal, a case was registered at the Kotwali police station against unidentified persons. Using the viral video, police identified and arrested the 14 men.

All those arrested are from the city’s Madanpura area. Police said they are primarily engaged in embroidery work, run saree shops, or are employed in similar trades.

The case was registered under BNS sections 298 (injuring or defiling place of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups), 270 (public nuisance) and 223 (using evidence known to be false). Police also invoked the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.

Police officials had earlier said that since the offences mentioned in the initial FIR did not warrant immediate arrest under the law, action was initiated under preventive provisions related to apprehension of breach of peace.