UP: FIR lodged, 1 held for vandalising stall after video goes viral

Mathura, Aug 30 (IANS) An FIR has been lodged against unnamed persons for allegedly harassing two Muslim brothers who run an eatery named 'Srinath Dosa Corner' in Uttar Pradesh's Mathura.

Varun Kumar, Circle Officer, City, Mathura, said, "A video on social media was brought to our notice in which some people can be heard making objectionable comments on the naming of a stall. An FIR has been filed in connection with the case and we are ascertaining the identity of the accused."

The FIR has been registered under section 506 (criminal intimidation) and 427 (mischief) of the IPC at the Kotwali police station.

It may be recalled that two Muslim brothers, who run a roadside food stall in Mathura, were allegedly harassed and their eatery vandalised by members of a local right-wing outfit who objected to its Hindu name.

The incident that took place on August 18, has forced the duo to rename the eatery as 'American Dosa Corner'.

M.P. Singh Superintendent of Police (city) said that so far, one person has been arrested in connection with the incident.

The accused, identified as Srikant Sharma, is a member of the International Hindu Parishad, a hitherto unknown organisation.

"The matter is being investigated and strict action will be taken against the accused," the SP said.

The brothers, Irfan and Aabid (who have only been identified with their first names), said they have been running the stall for the past five years under the same name without incident.

"We recently sold it off to a person called Rahul Thakur, but we manage it," said Aabid, adding that the stall's name has now been changed to "American Dosa Corner".

The incident took place on August 18 and soon after, a video of it went viral on social media.

In the two-minute video, a person can be seen asking Aabid, who was attending to customers at the time, why his stall carried a Hindu name.

The man can be heard threatening, "Remove the name now. Hindus will not eat at the stall if they know your true identity." The banner of the stall was also torn away later.

City president of International Hindu Parishad, Dev Sharma, said the organisation objected to the stall as "sentiments of Hindus were hurt by misuse of Lord Krishna's name, Srinath."

"They (Muslims) should not be using a Hindu name to earn money. Mathura is a religious town and such things can hurt sentiments of the community", said Sharma.