New Delhi: A large mob of Kanwariyas thrashed a man and vandalised his car with lathis, rods and bats in Ghaziabad on July 27 after the vehicle allegedly brushed against one of them, in the latest incident of street violence during the ongoing Kanwar Yatra.
However, instead of taking legal action against the vandals, who were caught on camera committing the act, police arrested the driver and booked him for rash driving.
A video of the incident was widely shared on social media. It showed a bunch of kanwariyas violently thrashing at a white car with wooden bats and lathis. The Kanwariyas also turned the mangled car on its head.
Ghaziabad police later lodged an FIR against the car driver. He was charged with committing an act endangering life or personal safety of others, rash driving or riding on a public way, criminal intimidation and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace.
In the FIR lodged at Muradnagar police station, police said the car driver was over speeding and driving negligently on a Kanwar Yatra route near the Ravli Road cut.
According to sub-inspector Ravindra Singh, the car brushed against the Kanwads carried by one of the Kanwariyas. When the Kanwariyas asked the driver to drive carefully, the driver started hurling abuses at them and threatened them, said Singh.
His behaviour “agitated” the unidentified Kanwariyas, who damaged the car and assaulted the driver, said Singh in the FIR, seen by The Wire.
While the FIR did not name the driver, only mentioning the description of the car, a report in Hindustan Times said he was identified as 36-year-old Nowar Chaudhary.
Naresh Kumar, Deputy Superintendent of Police, speaking after the incident on July 27 evening, said the driver of the car has been arrested. Further legal action was being taken, said the officer.
No action was taken against the Kanwariyas, according to information available.
Several such incidents of violence by Kanwariyas have been reported from Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar in Western UP and Haridwar in Uttarakhand. In many cases, Kanwariyas attacked commuters and vandalized their cars on the alleged pretext that the cars desecrated the holy Kawad they were carrying. Kanwariyas have also attacked a petrol pump and dhaba in Muzaffarnagar.
