Uttarakhand influencer goes shirtless, distributes beer cans in Haridwar; apologies after outrage (WATCH)

A video of an influencer named Ankur Choudhary went viral on social media on June 18, after the man posed and distributed beer cans in a sacred dry area. The incident happened in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, namely in the Kankhal area. As a part of his 30-day beer challenge, Ankur recorded and released the footage.

Ankur was observed standing with a carton of beer cans next to his BMW motorcycle. He gave away the alcohol after taking a shirtless photo with it. Even though he didn't really give the cans to anyone, he did dump them behind the bushes and use his camera to let people know where they might find them.

As the video went viral, it drew police action. They reportedly arrested the influencer for carrying the beer into the dry area and supplying it to people there, violating the restrictions on the premises.

It was discovered that the influencer only allowed others to view the content from days two and three of his beer challenge, either by archiving or removing the contentious video from his Instagram page.

Later, he claimed that he was unaware that the location in his last reel, Kankhal, was a dry place and didn't allow alcoholic products like beer. He reflected on the incident and apologised. 

"I'm going to give you all a really important update. I refrained from uploading a reel today because the last one I uploaded had a moment in which I was seen drinking beer in Khankal. Sincerely, I had no idea that the location is in a dry zone. "I acknowledge that I made a mistake, but that reel is going extremely viral on social media," he posted in Hindi on his Instagram story.

• Ankur Choudhary
• Haridwar
• Kankhal
• Offbeat News
• Uttarakhand
• social media
• dry area