Shahjahanpur (UP), Jan 25 (PTI) Two men were arrested on Sunday in connection with a man and a woman jumping off the second floor of a pizza parlour in Uttar Pradesh’s Shahjahanpur after allegedly being accosted by the members of a Hindutva organisation, police said.
Police have booked eight men over the incident that took place on Saturday. Three of the accused — Pravesh, Sonu and Harshit — have been named in the FIR.
The two arrested men have been identified as Abhishek Rathore and Sachin Kumar, police said, adding that the accused have been booked under sections 191(2) (rioting) and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Superintendent of Police (SP) Rajesh Dwivedi told PTI that Vishal, a resident of Powayan town, near Bareilly Morh under the Kant police station, had gone to the Pizza 99 restaurant with his girlfriend on Saturday evening when seven-eight men from an organisation arrived there and started demanding identity cards from those present at the restaurant.
The officer said in his complaint, Vishal has said the men then started misbehaving with them and filming them. Frightened by the acts of the men, Vishal’s girlfriend jumped out of a window from the second floor of the pizza parlour and he followed suit, the complaint has stated.
Both the complainant and the woman were seriously injured in the incident.
The SP said based on the complaint, the case was registered against Pravesh, Sonu, Harshit and five unidentified men on Saturday evening. Subsequently, police arrested Rathore and Kumar on Sunday.
The officer also said that instructions have been given to all pizza parlours in the city to not have cabins, avoid using curtains and install transparent glass.
Officials have also been instructed to conduct surprise inspections of restaurants and eateries and take strict action if illegal activities are found, he added.
Reacting to the incident, the Uttar Pradesh Congress condemned the “hooliganism” of Hindutva outfits.
In a post in Hindi on X, the opposition party said, “The hooliganism of Hindutva organisations is increasing. They do not respect any law. It has become necessary to stop them. In Shahjahanpur, a couple went to a restaurant to eat Maggi. Members of a Hindutva organisation arrived, demanded Aadhaar cards from them, misbehaved with them and also made videos.
“Seeing this, both of them got scared and jumped out of the window in panic. Both sustained serious injuries. Eating food at a restaurant has now become a crime. These people, who call themselves protectors of religion, are flouting the law, making videos and misbehaving. The government’s silence is emboldening these rioters. The system has completely failed.” PTI COR ABN NAV RC
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