5 arrested over ‘non-veg’ food, alcohol on Ganga, get bail same day

3 min readLucknowUpdated: Jun 24, 2026 07:17 PM IST

The accused are Deepak Kumar, Ajay Sahni, Arun Kumar Sahni, Anurag Nishad and Rahul Sahni, all in their 20s and residents of Varanasi, said police. They did odd jobs. (File Photo)

Five men were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly consuming alcohol and cooking non-vegetarian food aboard a boat on the Ganga river in Varanasi. All were granted bail the same day.

The accused have been identified as Deepak Kumar, Ajay Sahni, Arun Kumar Sahni, Anurag Nishad and Rahul Sahni, all in their 20s and residents of Varanasi, said police. They did odd jobs. The incident, however, does not appear to be recent. Police said preliminary examination suggested it had been recorded during the winter months.

In a similar case in March, Varanasi Police had arrested 14 men after a video purportedly showing an iftar gathering on a boat went viral. Police had said the men allegedly consumed chicken biryani and threw leftover food into the river. The men secured bail in May, months after their arrest.

The present matter also came to light after a video allegedly showing a group of men consuming alcohol and cooking chicken on a boat went viral on social media. Police took cognizance of the matter and launched an inquiry.

Police examined the video to determine when and where it had been recorded and to identify the persons seen in it. The probe eventually led police to the boat used in the gathering and the five men.

Police registered a case at the Dashashwamedh police station on Monday night under BNS sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups) and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs).

Police identified the men in the video, conducted raids at their homes and arrested them on Tuesday. Police also seized the boat.

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Santosh Kumar, Station House Officer of Dashashwamedh police station, said provisions related to breach of peace were invoked against the five men. He added that the accused were produced before a magistrate and granted bail later the same day.

In the March case, an FIR had been filed based on a complaint by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha’s district president Rajat Jaiswal. During the probe, police invoked additional charges including extortion against the accused.

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