Muslim men arrested in UP on Bajrang Dal’s complaint of mixing urine in juice served to Kanwarias
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Two Muslim men working at a juice shop in Ghaziabad’s Nandgram area were arrested on Sunday under Section 151 of the CrPC, a provision meant for preventive action, after a Bajrang Dal worker accused them of mixing urine in orange juice served to Kanwar Yatra pilgrims, even though no evidence had been presented and test results were still awaited.
The arrests of Zeeshan and Mahtab, who run the juice stall at Sihani Chungi on the Delhi-Meerut Highway, came amid rising concerns over the Uttar Pradesh Government’s recent directive mandating QR code stickers for all shops along the 540-km Kanwar Yatra route, which many believe is being used to specifically target Muslim food vendors, The Siasat Daily reported.
The two men were detained based on the complaint of a member of the Bajrang Dal, a right-wing Hindu group, and charged under Section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which allows police to arrest individuals without a magistrate’s order or warrant if they believe a cognisable offence is imminent and cannot otherwise be prevented.
However, authorities confirmed that the juice samples had only been sent for testing by the Food Safety department and that results confirming the presence of any foreign substances would take up to fifteen days.
The crackdown comes at a time when the Yogi Adityanath-led state government has enforced strict measures along the pilgrimage route, including the QR code rule, which officials say is intended to ensure hygiene and transparency but which many critics argue disproportionately affects Muslim-owned establishments.
While officials maintain that the regulation is about accountability for the estimated four crore devotees expected to participate in the annual Shiva pilgrimage, its implementation has raised fears of discriminatory policing and profiling, especially when coupled with actions like the recent arrests in Ghaziabad.
Kanwar Yatra, a significant religious event in northern India, sees millions of devotees—known as Kanwarias—travel on foot to pilgrimage sites like Haridwar, Gangotri, and Gaumukh in Uttarakhand, as well as Ajgaibinath in Bihar, to collect holy Ganges water.
The sealing of the juice shop and the rapid police action based solely on a complaint by a member of a Hindu nationalist group further deepens concerns over law enforcement bias, especially when coupled with the broader QR code directive, which many perceive as an indirect form of economic marginalisation.
