A Varanasi sessions court has denied bail to 14 Muslim youths arrested for holding an iftar gathering on a boat in the Ganga. The court said posting the video of the incident on social media showed intent to “affect social harmony.”
A sessions court in Varanasi has denied bail to 14 Muslim youths who were arrested last month in connection with the Ganga iftar case. The court observed that the actions of the accused appeared to have been done with the intention of affecting social harmony.
The case relates to an incident that took place on March 15, when the youths allegedly broke their Ramzan fast while sitting in a boat on the Ganga river. The case was filed after a complaint by a BJP youth wing worker, Rajat Jaiswal, who accused them of eating meat during iftar and throwing the waste into the river. Based on this allegation, the police registered a case and arrested the youths.
The police invoked several provisions under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections related to defiling a place of worship, outraging religious feelings, and later also added charges of extortion. The case quickly became controversial and attracted public attention, especially after videos of the boat ride were circulated on social media.
During the bail hearing in the Varanasi sessions court, the lawyer for the accused argued that the allegations were false and politically motivated. He repeated the argument that was earlier made before the trial court, stating that the videos of the boat ride did not show the youths eating meat and that the police did not recover any meat from the spot.
The defence also claimed that the accused were “falsely implicated” out of “political malice” and “vendetta” and at the behest of ruling BJP leaders.
On the other hand, the state counsel opposed the bail plea and argued that the act was not a simple act of having food, but a planned act that could disturb communal harmony. The state argued that the incident was a premeditated act “designed to threaten public peace” and “communal amity”. The prosecution also told the court that the ‘supporters’ of the accused were continuously threatening the informant in the case.
After hearing both sides, Sessions Judge Alok Kumar denied bail to the accused. The judge observed that the act of posting the video of the incident on social media indicated intention.
The court stated that the accused’s
“posting the said video on social media prima facie proves that the said incident was committed with the objective of affecting social harmony”.
The judge further noted that the circulation of the video clips of the boat ride and the meal on social media made the matter more serious and increased the gravity of the incident. Considering the seriousness of the allegations and the circumstances of the case, the court rejected the bail application of all 14 accused.
It is important to note that earlier, the trial court had also denied bail to the accused in this case. With the sessions court also rejecting the bail plea, the accused will remain in judicial custody as the case continues.
Click Here to Read More Reports on Ganga Iftar Case
