Iftar party on Ganges: Sessions Court denies bail to 14 Muslim men
Varanasi:Fourteen Muslims, accused of eating chicken and discarding the bones during iftar on a boat along the ghats of the River Ganges in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh state of India, were denied bail, with the court observing that posting the act on social media platforms indicated their intention to disrupt communal peace.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Judge Alok Kumar of the Sessions Court in his order said, “Posting the said video on social media prima facie proves that the said incident was committed with the objective of affecting social harmony.”
The bail plea of the accused was also rejected by the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate on March 23.
On March 15, videos emerged showing the accused purportedly breaking their Ramadan fast with chicken and allegedly throwing leftovers into the river. The posts went massively viral, prompting legal action, according to a media report.
Police registered a case against Azad Ali, Aamir Kaiki, Danish Saifi, Mohammed Ahmad, Nehal Afridi, Mahfooz Alam, Mohammed Anas, Mohammed Awwal, Mohammed Tahseem, Mohammed Ahmad alias Raja, Mohammed Noor Ismail, Mohammed Tausif Ahmad, Mohd Faizan and Mohammed Sameer.
The arrests were made based on a complaint by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)’s city president Rajat Jaiswal.
The counsel, representing the accused, told the court that Jaiswal was not present during the incident and hence cannot be considered an eyewitness. He also said the police failed to recover the alleged chicken bones from the site.
However, the Sessions Court struck down the bail applications, saying that sharing the content online heightened the seriousness of the offence, particularly given its proximity to Eid and other festivals.
