Around 25 right-wing activists allegedly barged into a private birthday celebration of a 20-year-old first-year female nursing student at a cafe in Bareilly and thrashed some of her male guests, raised ‘love jihad' slogans.
A private birthday celebration at a Bareilly cafe resulted into chaos after around 25 right-wing activists, including a self-proclaimed cow vigilante, allegedly stormed the venue, assaulted guests and raised ‘love jihad’ slogans because two Muslim students were present at the gathering.
The incident unfolded on Saturday evening when a 20-year-old first-year nursing student, a Budaun resident currently staying in a local hostel, hosted a small birthday party with nine friends, including five women. Chaos erupted after a group allegedly barged into the cafe, thrashed some of the male guests and created a ruckus.
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According to the victims, the police response initially added insult to injury. The two Muslim students and a cafe staffer were reportedly fined for “breach of peace”, while those accused of trespassing and assault faced no immediate action. The situation drew sharp criticism online, triggering widespread outrage on social media.
Following the backlash, police formally acknowledged the “assault and harassment by the right-wing activists”. Bareilly SP (city) Manush Pareek said, "We've identified those seen attacking inside the cafe, and an FIR has been registered under BNS sections 333 (house trespass), 115-2 (voluntarily causing hurt), 352 (intentional insult...), 351 (criminal intimidation) and 191 (rioting). We've sought a reply from the SHO on why no action was not taken against them."
A departmental inquiry has also been initiated against the SHO. Police clarified that "claims of love jihad were found to be untrue", effectively debunking the allegations that fuelled the violence.
Recounting the ordeal, the nursing student dismissed the accusations as baseless. "They gate-crashed and assaulted my friends. One of them suffered fractures," she said. A disturbing video showing men thrashing guests at the birthday party has since gone viral, further intensifying public anger.
Meanwhile, Ashish Sharma, ‘gau raksha pramukh’ of a right-wing group's Bareilly unit, distanced his organisation from the incident, stating that Thakur was no longer associated with them. He also claimed that members of his group "were not part of the assault".
