Varanasi Ganga Iftar Party Case: 8 Accused Get Bail

The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to eight accused arrested in the Varanasi Ganga River iftar party case, nearly 59 days after their arrest. The bail pleas of the remaining six accused will now be heard on May 18.

The division bench of Justice Rajeev Lochan Shukla and Justice Jitendra Kumar Sinha approved the bail applications during the hearing. Earlier, bail pleas were filed by Danish Saifi, Aamir Kaifi, and Noorul Islam, while other accused submitted their petitions later.

The case dates back to March 16, when 14 youths were arrested for allegedly organizing an iftar party aboard a boat in the middle of the Ganga River in Varanasi. Videos of the gathering, where non-vegetarian food including chicken biryani was allegedly served, went viral on social media and triggered controversy.

A complaint was lodged by BJYM metropolitan president Rajat Jaiswal at Kotwali police station, following which police arrested all 14 accused within hours.

During the hearing, police claimed that the youths had allegedly forced the boatman to take the boat into the middle of the river and ignored objections raised during the party. Authorities also argued that the event was intentionally filmed and circulated online to send a public message.

All accused belong to the Madanpura area of Varanasi and are between 19 and 25 years of age. The matter remains under judicial consideration, with further hearings scheduled in the High Court.