The discriminatory and arbitrary application of criminal law by the Uttar Pradesh police against Muslims, as compared with Hindus, is evident from two recent incidents on the Ganges in Varanasi.
While 14 Muslim youths arrested over a video of them breaking their Ramadan fast on a boat spent nearly two months in jail under multiple stringent charges, a group of Hindu men filmed cooking chicken, drinking alcohol and partying on the river were granted bail the same day despite an FIR invoking provisions on promoting enmity and outraging religious feelings, with the arrest challan citing only preventive action to avert a breach of peace.
The latest case stems from a video that surfaced on social media purportedly showing nine men cooking chicken and drinking beer aboard a small boat on the Ganges.
Acting suo motu, the Dashashwamedh police registered FIR No. 0143/2026 on June 23 under Sections 196(2) and 299 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), alleging that the conduct had hurt the religious sentiments of millions of Hindus and disturbed the sanctity of the sacred river.
Five of the accused—Deepak Kumar, Arun Kumar Sahni, Rahul Sahni, Ajay Sahni and Anurag Nishad—were arrested but secured bail later that day. However, the challan submitted before the executive magistrate did not cite the BNS offences mentioned in the FIR.
Instead, it recorded the arrests under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), stating that the men had been shouting at tourists and could have caused a breach of peace, according to Alt News.
When questioned about the discrepancy, Dashashwamedh station house officer Santosh Kumar told Alt News that the investigation was continuing and additional sections could be incorporated in the final chargesheet.
He also claimed that the video appeared to have been recorded much earlier, pointing to the winter clothing worn by those visible in the footage, but offered no explanation for why the allegations central to the FIR were omitted from the arrest challan.
The contrast with the March arrests is striking. On March 16, after a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Rajat Jaiswal over a video showing Muslim men breaking their Ramadan fast on a boat, police arrested 14 men the following day under seven provisions of the BNS, including those relating to defiling a place of worship, outraging religious feelings, promoting enmity, public nuisance and fouling water, along with provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act.
Two days later, investigators invoked the far more severe Section 308(5) of the BNS, dealing with extortion under threat of death or grievous hurt, and Section 67 of the Information Technology Act relating to the circulation of obscene material. The basis for the extortion charge was never clearly explained.
The Muslim accused remained in judicial custody after successive bail applications were rejected by lower courts. It was only in mid-May, nearly two months after their arrest, that the Allahabad High Court granted them bail in phases.