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Three days after a group of kanwariyas vandalised a police car and wreaked havoc in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, the police on Friday, 10 August, said that they had arrested six kanwariyas, including the main accused Pappu.
The ruckus had taken place in Bulandshahr's Narsena area on 7 August.
According to ANI, Pappu, a Kanwar, was accused of eve-teasing by the victim Deepu, who had filed a complaint against him in Narsena Police Station. Pappu reportedly went to confront Deepu with his fellow Kanwar friends and roughed him up. When police tried to nab them, they vandalised the cop car.
However, Prashant Kumar, ADG of Police (Meerut Zone) said that the incident had no connection with Kanwariyas but was a dispute between two groups.
The incident is not connected with Kanwariyas. It was a dispute between two groups. The police reached the spot immediately and a case was registered. We will investigate the matter further.Prashant Kumar, ADG (Meerut Zone), to ANI.
Ten accused have been named in the complaint filed in the Bugarsi Police Station in Bulandshahr district.
However, the authorities will arrest the accused only after Shivratri, ANI reported.
A similar incident was reported in Muzaffarnagar where a group of Kanwar yatris vandalised a white car. In the video that has emereged, the kanwariyas can also be heard using abusive language as they wreak havoc on the streets.
Earlier, in Delhi’s Moti Nagar, a group of Kanwar yatris were caught on camera vandalising a car after the driver allegedly brushed past one of them.
The group shattered the windows and windscreens of the car with sticks and rods and finally toppled the car over, while mute spectators watched on.
The Kanwar yatris are Shiva devotees who are on their annual pilgrimage, walking from their homes to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand. While loud music, cannabis consumption, huge traffic jams and littering are usually associated with the yatris, the incidents of violence have also risen in the recent years.
Meanwhile, the additional director general of Meerut, Commissioner Anita Meshram, Uttar Pradesh Police (Meerut Zone) Prashant Kumar and other senior officials showered rose petals on Kanwariyas from a helicopter on Wednesday, ANI reported.
Kumar brushed any ‘religious angle’ and told ANI that flowers are used to welcome all people.
No religious angle should be given to this, flowers are used to welcome people. Administration respects all religions and actively takes part, even in Gurupurab,Eid, Bakrid or Jain festivals.Prashant Kumar,ADG (Meerut Zone)
(With ANI inputs)
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