The arrested vendor, identified as Nizamuddin (27), is a resident of village Ganjewali from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district. Questions are being raised about the need for the arrest and seizure of all his goods when action could have been limited to a stoppage of the sale of the products.
Team India
NEW DELHI – A Muslim youth has been arrested for selling eggs at Haridwar’s Har Ki Pauri ghat on the banks of river Ganga, considered sacred by Hindus. The young vendor has been charged with hurting Hindu religious sentiments.
The sale of meat, fish and eggs is banned in Haridwar. In 2004, the Supreme Court upheld the Uttarakhand government’s move to make Hindu holy towns Haridwar, Rishikesh and Muni Ki Reti free from non-vegetarian food.
The Haridwar Police in Uttarakhand reportedly first booked and then jailed the Muslim vendor who was initially seen by some locals allegedly selling the eggs at the ghat. The locals handed over the Muslim youth to the police, media reports reaching here said on Wednesday.
The police told the media that the youth, identified as Nizamuddin (27), son of Safeek, is a resident of village Ganjewali from Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district. Questions are being raised about the need for the arrest and seizure of all his goods when action could have been limited to a stoppage of the sale of the products.
“The accused has been detained and sent to jail on charges of selling eggs. The arrest was made based on the information provided by the local residents, who handed him over to the police along with evidence of his alleged unlawful activities,” Sanjeev Chauhan, in-charge of the local police station, said.
One version is that the accused was found “selling eggs secretly” in a basket in a prohibited zone for non-vegetarian food items.
The vendor claimed that he was unaware of the prohibition. However, the police, instead of giving him the benefit of the doubt registered a case against him under serious sections. The police also seized his entire stock of eggs from his possession which is also questionable.
Ganga Sabha, a religious body that manages the affairs of the ghat, also jumped into the controversy and accused the youth of deliberately selling eggs and hurting the religious sentiments of the Hindus. The religious body has demanded “strict action” against him.
