Five people were arrested by the Rudraprayag Police after a video of an altercation at the Sitapur parking lot near Kedarnath went viral Thursday.
An FIR has been registered under 190 (unlawful assembly), 191(1) (rioting) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, naming all five involved after the incident took place on Thursday morning, officials said.
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In a statement, the police said, “A video of a violent altercation went viral on social media today, in which several individuals can be seen engaging in a stick fight and attacking each other. Taking cognizance of the video, the Sonprayag police visited the incident site, Sitapur parking, and conducted an inquiry. It was found that the incident occurred around 11 am today. The clash reportedly broke out between some pilgrims and Sitapur parking staff over an unspecified issue and escalated into a physical fight involving sticks.”
Police further questioned the parking contractor and others on the spot, and based on the inquiry, an FIR was registered at Sonprayag police station. A total of five individuals named in the FIR have been arrested and produced before the court. The accused have been identified as Deepak Chandra, 23, Laxman Singh, 32, Rajender Kohli, 33, Sudarshan Chandra, 28, and Durgesh, 21, all residents of Rudraprayag.
Superintendent of Police, Rudraprayag, Akshay Prahlad Konde, said that the parking contractor has also been held accountable for failing to control his staff properly. “Strictest possible action will be taken in such matters. This kind of behaviour towards pilgrims visiting the Char Dham Yatra is completely unacceptable under any circumstances,” he said.
So far, over 11 lakh pilgrims have visited Kedarnath, the highest among the four shrines in Char Dham circuit.
Aiswarya Raj is a Senior Correspondent for The Indian Express, one of India's most respected media houses, specialising in in-depth coverage of Uttarakhand and the Himalayan region. Her work focuses on delivering essential, ground-up reporting across complex regional issues.
Aiswarya brings significant journalistic experience to her role, having started her career at The Indian Express as a Sub-Editor with the Delhi city team. She subsequently developed her reporting expertise by covering Gurugram and its neighboring districts before transitioning to her current focus. She is an accomplished alumna of the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) and the University of Kerala.
Her reporting is characterized by a commitment to narrative journalism, prioritising the human element and verified facts behind critical events. Aiswarya’s beats demonstrate deep expertise in state politics, law enforcement investigations (e.g., paper leak cases, international cyber scams), human-wildlife conflict, environmental disasters, and socio-economic matters affecting local communities.
This specific, sustained focus on critical regional news provides the necessary foundation for high trustworthiness and authoritativeness on topics concerning Uttarakhand. ... Read More