Youth booked after video of drinking beer while taking bath in Ganga goes viral

Varanasi: A Bihar-based youth was booked here on Friday after a video of him purportedly drinking beer while taking a bath in the Ganga river went viral on social media, police said.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Atul Anjan Tripathi said the police took cognisance after the video surfaced online, and added that a police team has been sent to Bihar to arrest him.

“In the viral video, a person can be clearly seen openly consuming beer in the Ganga river,” Tripathi said.

He added that a case was registered under BNS sections 196 (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) based on a complaint by local BJP leader Shashank Tripathi.

The ACP said a detailed probe into the video and the location of the incident is underway.

According to police, the youth is a resident of Rohtas district in Bihar.

“He would be apprehended soon,” the ACP said.

Appealing to the public, Tripathi said the Ganga is a centre of faith for crores of people and urged citizens not to indulge in acts that could hurt religious sentiments.

He added that the police have been carrying out regular preventive action and patrols to curb such incidents. Earlier, a similar controversy had erupted after a video showing people purportedly eating biryani in Ganga surfaced online.

In that case, the police had registered an FIR against 14 people and sent them to jail.

Some of the accused were later granted bail by the high court, officials said.