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Varanasi: Five Hindu men, arrested for allegedly conducting a chicken-cum-alcohol party on the ghats of Ganga river in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, were granted bail on Tuesday, June 23.

The bail was granted in less than 24 hours after their arrest.

The five men – Anurag Saini, Rahul Saini, Ajay Saini, Deepak Kumar and Arun Kumar – were arrested after a video surfaced on social media showing eight men on a boat anchored at the Dashashwamedh Ghat cooking chicken curry and drinking beer.

However, all five men have been granted bail on sureties of Rs 20,000 each, according to a report by The Wire.

A police challan submitted in the magistrate’s court stated the five men were apprehended for arguing with tourists under sections 170 (arrest to prevent commission of cognizable offence) and 126/135 (preventing breaches of peace and maintaining public order) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). It does not mention the words “chicken” and “beer.”

The first information report (FIR), on the other hand, was registered under sections 196(2) (promoting enmity or hatred between different groups) and 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) of the BNS.

Siasat.com tried to reach out to Dashashwamedh Ghat Police Station officials, including the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Kashi, to understand the separate allegations in the FIR and the police challan, but received no response.

Further, several reports suggested that the boat belongs to a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. This was flagged by the media cell of Samajwadi Party on June 23. The Varanasi Police replied that a probe is underway.

The granting of bail and to the five Hindu men, as compared to the 14 Muslims who were arrested on similar charges during Ramzan, has raised eyebrows.

The Muslim men broke their fast by allegedly consuming chicken biryani and throwing leftover pieces into the river. The videos went massively viral, leading to their instant arrest.

Unlike the above case, the men were booked under stringent sections (many non-bailable). These are sections 196(1)(b) (promoting enmity), 270 (public nuisance), 279 (fouling water of public spring or reservoir), 298 (injuring or defiling place of worship), 299 (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs), 308 (extortion) and 223(b) of the BNS, along with Section 24 (prohibition on use of stream or well for disposal of polluting matter) of The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

Out of 14 arrested, eight men were released on bail two months later.