Bulandshahr street vendor booked for selling shoes with ‘Thakur’ written on them

The vendor, Nasir, was booked following a complaint by a local resident. The incident and the police action drew sharp criticism on social media.

Screengrab of shoe vendor, Nasir, who was booked by the police | Twitter: @Benarasiyaa

Bulandshahr: A roadside vendor was taken into police custody in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district on Tuesday over a complaint that he was selling shoes that had a caste-identifying word inscribed on its sole, officials said.

The vendor, Nasir, was booked following a complaint by a local resident, Vishal Chauhan, that the shoes being sold by him had the word “Thakur” written on them, a senior official said.

“Based on the complaint, an FIR has been lodged against the shoe vendor at the Gulawathi police station and the matter is being investigated. Further action would be taken on the basis of the probe,” Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Atul Kumar Srivastava said.

The FIR has been lodged under Indian Penal Code sections 153A (promoting enmity between groups and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 504 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), according to officials.

The incident and the police action drew sharp criticism from some social media users.

Responding to the reactions, the district police said on Twitter: “Had the police not taken the action as per the legal system, many people would have reacted differently or in the wrong way (ulti ya bhinn pratikriya dete). Hence, the police have followed the rules and please look at it in the same way.”

इस प्रकरण में वर्तमान विधि व्यवस्था के अनुसार जो सुसंगत था वह कार्यवाही की है, यदि पुलिस कार्यवाही न करती तो बहुत से लोग उल्टी/भिन्न प्रतिक्रिया देते। अतः पुलिस ने नियम का पालन किया है। कृपया इसे इसी रूप में देखें। @Uppolice @igrangemeerut https://t.co/iw76oYQSCV

— Bulandshahr Police (@bulandshahrpol) January 5, 2021