Video Shows Iftar Party On Boat in Varanasi; 14 Arrested For Dumping Biryani Waste in Ganga (WATCH)

A video purportedly showing Muslim men holding an iftar party on a boat and disposing of bones and waste of chicken biryani in the river Ganga went viral.

Tension flared in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi after a viral video sparked outrage and swift police action, leading to the arrest of 14 Muslim youths for allegedly defiling a place of worship and hurting religious sentiments. The video allegedly showed the group hosting an iftar party on a boat in the sacred River Ganga and disposing of chicken biryani waste, including bones, into the river.

The arrests were made on Tuesday following a formal complaint filed a day earlier by BJP Yuva Morcha city unit chief Rajat Jaiswal. Acting on the complaint and the viral clips, police moved quickly to identify and track down the accused.

ACP (Kotwali) Vijay Pratap Singh confirmed that an FIR was registered under multiple provisions, including sections related to defiling a place of worship, outraging religious feelings, promoting enmity between communities, public nuisance, and disobedience of lawful orders, along with the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

The accused, identified as Mohd Awwal, Amzad Ali, Mohd Samir, Mohd Ahmad alias Raza, Noor Ismail, Mohd Faizan, Mohd Ahmad, Mohd Tahseem, Mahfooj Alam, Mohd Tausif Ahmad, Amir Kaifi, Nehal Afridi, Mohd Anas, and Danish Saifi, were traced with the help of the viral video. All are residents of the Madanpura locality.

According to police, a team acted on a tip-off and located the group at Gaighat on Tuesday afternoon. A brief scuffle reportedly broke out before officers managed to detain the accused and escort them to the Kotwali police station.

Detailing the allegations, the complainant stated, "The viral video showed that some Muslim youths consumed non-veg food in the name of an iftar party while sailing in front of Bindu Madhav Dharara temple, referring to the temple in the background as Alamgir Mosque. They later dumped the waste and bones into the river."

He further added, "The Ganga holds deep and unshakeable faith for followers of Sanatan Dharm. Thousands of devotees from across the country and the world visit Kashi every day to perform rituals and offer prayers using Ganga water. We filed a complaint with video clips as evidence against the act committed with a Jihadi mindset."