14 arrested in Varanasi for hosting Iftar, eating biryani aboard a boat on Ganga

Fourteen people have been arrested on charges of defiling a place of worship and hurting religious feelings after a video purportedly showing them eating chicken biryani during an Iftar party hosted on a boat in the Ganga river was widely shared on social media, officials said on Tuesday (March 17. 2026).

The action was taken on a written complaint filed on Monday by the BJP Yuva Morcha's city unit chief Rajat Jaiswal. The case was registered at the Kotwali police station.

Mr. Jaiswal alleged that an Iftar party was organised on a boat in the Ganga, during which chicken biryani was consumed.