Just ₹16 clothing offer draws massive crowds; police lathi charge

Kanpur: Thousands of people gathered outside a clothing store in Kanpur after a social media offer promised garments for just ₹16, triggering a chaotic midnight rush and forcing police to use lathicharge to disperse the crowd. Frightening visuals of people attempting to storm into the shop have since spread widely on social media.

The incident took place at Alam Mart in Alam Market, Anwarganj, on the night of August 15. Shop owner Rayees Alam had promoted a special birthday offer promising customers the chance to buy any garment for ₹16 during the first 16 minutes after midnight on August 16.

The offer went viral on Instagram and Facebook, drawing a huge crowd by around 11 pm. Roads and the area around the shop became packed, bringing traffic to a standstill. As the crowd grew impatient, arguments broke out between customers and shop employees, prompting police to bring in additional personnel from nearby stations.

Police eventually resorted to a lathi charge as the situation threatened to spiral out of control. Anwarganj ACP Manjay Singh said the unrest was triggered by an unrealistic offer promoted through social media, which drew people to the shop in overwhelming numbers.

Police have registered a case against shop owners Mohammed Alam, Rayees Alam and Salman Alam. Salman has been arrested, while the other two are reportedly absconding, and a search is underway to trace them.