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No relief for 14 Varanasi youth arrested over iftar on Ganga; Sessions Court denies bail
The accused, all in their 20s, have been lodged in the Varanasi District Jail since their arrest on March 17.
It was alleged that an iftar gathering was held on a boat on the Ganga and the accused discarded the leftovers into the river on March 15. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)
A Sessions Court in Varanasi Monday rejected the bail applications of 14 men who were arrested last month over allegations of eating chicken biryani in an Iftar gathering they held on a boat on the Ganga before discarding the leftovers into the river on March 15.
The accused, all in their 20s, have been in judicial custody and lodged in the Varanasi District Jail since their arrest on March 17.
Defence counsel Rana Yadav submitted that the applicants had approached the Sessions Court after their bail pleas were rejected by the lower court on March 23.
“After hearing arguments from both sides, the Sessions Court on Wednesday rejected the bail applications of all 14 accused. We will now move the High Court seeking bail,” Yadav said.
The youth who attended the iftar gathering in police custody in Varanasi. (Express Photo by Vishal Srivastav)
District Government Counsel, Varanasi, M S Chauhan, confirmed that the Sessions Court rejected the bail pleas.
On March 17, police initiated action after a video of the alleged incident went viral on social media. Officials had said the footage was purportedly uploaded by the accused themselves.
Following this, Rajat Jaiswal, district president of the BJP’s youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), lodged a complaint at Kotwali police station.
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A case was then filed 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), and 223 (using evidence known to be false).
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.
Charges of extortion were also invoked against the accused.
“We invoked BNS section 308 (extortion) against the accused based on the statements of the boat operators, who alleged that the group forcibly took control of the motorboat after issuing threats,” Assistant Commissioner of Police, Varanasi, Vijay Pratap Singh had said earlier.
The motorboat is owned by 65-year-old Kashi Sahani. ACP Singh said the extortion charge was invoked based on statements by Kashi Sahani’s son, Anil Sahani, and his relative, Ranjan Sahani.
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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.
Jaiswal also lodged another complaint alleging that he had been receiving abusive messages and death threats from unknown persons through social media platforms. A separate case was registered at Sigra police station under charges of intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace and criminal intimidation. No arrest has been made in connection with this case, said police.
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