It all started with a gala time that turned into a nightmare. A small birthday party in UP’s Bareilly with a college group turned violent. Minutes had just flipped when a mob allegedly belonging to Bajrangdal allegedly stormed into the restaurant with allegations that “love jihad is happening here,” the cafe owner, Shaliendra Gangwar, told FoEJ Media.
“A birthday party of around 10–12 students was going on when members of the Bajrang Dal entered the place, asking, ‘Who here is Muslim?’ When two boys raised their hands, the group began beating them. They then smashed the restaurant’s glass panels and vandalized chairs and other property.” Shaliendra Gangwar said while talking to FoEJ Media.
Following this, the mob asked others apart from the birthday girl and Muslim boys to leave the party and allegedly assaulted them, including the birthday girl.
“After that, they told everyone else to go home but stopped the birthday girl and the Muslim boys. They then assaulted both the girl and the boys,” Gangwar claimed.
The videos of the incident making rounds on the internet show members of Bajrang Dal harassing the girl and abusing her.
According to the complainant, the incident occurred around 2 pm on December 27 while customers were celebrating a birthday at the restaurant. Rishabh and Deepak, along with 20–25 unidentified individuals, allegedly stormed into the premises, created chaos, verbally abused staff and patrons, assaulted them, and issued threats to kill.
Meanwhile, the police booked two Muslim boys and a café staff member for allegedly “disturbing the peace” under Sections 170, 126, and 135 of the BNSS.
However, after mounting public outrage, police registered an FIR on the basis of a complaint filed by the café owner, invoking multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Samhita (BNS), including Sections 333, 115(2), 352, 351(3), 324(4), 131, and 191(2),
