UP: Pilgrims attack travellers after car hits Kanwar | Latest News from India

A group of Kanwar pilgrims damaged a car and attacked its occupants on the Haridwar-Delhi national highway, police said on Monday. The pilgrims claimed that their ‘kanwar’ (pots containing holy water from the river Ganga) had become impure after they were touched by a car.

Police told news agency PTI that no believer had come forward to confirm whether his kanwar had touched the car.

A Kanwar is a pot filled with water from the river Ganges, hanging from an ornate bamboo pole and balanced on the shoulders of the “Kanwariyas” as they carry the holy water home as an offering to the god Shiva.

The yatra began on the first day of the month of Sawan (Shravan) on Monday. It will end on August 2nd.

Circle officer Raju Kumar Sab told PTI that the damaged vehicle has been seized and efforts are on to identify the driver and passengers. Police are also checking CCTV footage from the area, officer Raju said.

SC stays Kanwar order

Last Friday, the Muzaffarnagar police issued an order requiring restaurant owners to display their names in front of the restaurants along the Kanwar Yatra route. This decision was later extended to the entire state by the Uttar Pradesh government.

On Monday, the Supreme Court imposed a temporary stay on the order.

“I have said that the Supreme Court should take up this matter and stop such actions. Just as a diya flutters before it is blown out, the diya of the ended communal politics is also fluttering and that is why the hearing is being held. The government has taken many such steps because when communal politics ends, these people will act like this…” Samajwadi Party MP Akhilesh Yadav told reporters on Monday, reacting to the development.