Collected leftover lamp oil: women, children get beaten in Ayodhya

Lucknow: Women and children were allegedly beaten with sticks in Ayodhya while collecting leftover oil from earthen lamps after the Deepotsav celebrations, triggering outrage after videos of the assault circulated on social media.

More than 3 million earthen lamps were lit along the banks of the Sarayu River on Saturday. After the celebrations, women and children from economically weaker sections gathered to collect the oil remaining in the lamps using plastic bottles and containers. Videos showing people armed with sticks chasing and assaulting them spread widely on social media over the following days.

The incident drew a sharp response from Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who demanded an investigation and urged the Women's Commission to take suo motu action. He called for legal proceedings against the BJP workers and event organisers allegedly involved in the assault.

Sharing a video of the incident, Akhilesh accused the BJP of humiliating women despite its claims of respecting them. He also announced that a Samajwadi Party-led PDA government would distribute mustard oil through ration shops in Uttar Pradesh to prevent poor and marginalised people from being humiliated when trying to obtain cooking oil.

Akhilesh further accused Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of publicly humiliating the mother of a young man who died in a fire in Lucknow. He warned that the BJP would face electoral consequences over its treatment of women in the next Assembly election.

Ayodhya Mayor Girish Pati Tripathi, responding to the allegations, said oil and sweets had been distributed among residents of slum areas and poorer sections before the Deepotsav celebrations.