By Maktoob
A Muslim food vlogger from Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar was arrested after a social media video promoting a non-vegetarian restaurant allegedly hurt religious sentiments by featuring visuals of a Shiv Temple surrounded by the tricolour at the city’s well-known Shiv Chowk area.
The accused, identified as Anas Ahmed, is a resident of Laddawala and runs food vlogging channels on YouTube and other social media platforms.
According to police, Ahmed had visited a local restaurant, Al Yameen, to shoot a food review reel showcasing non-vegetarian dishes served at the eatery.
During the recording, Ahmed also captured visuals of several prominent landmarks across the city, including the national flag and the Shiv idol situated at Shiv Chowk.
The inclusion of the Shiv idol in a video promoting non-vegetarian food triggered objections from Hindutva organisations, which alleged that the content insulted Hindu religious sentiments.
The groups reportedly demanded immediate police action and warned of protests if the vlogger was not arrested.
Following the complaints, police initiated an inquiry and later detained Ahmed.
Bablu Kumar, Station House Officer of Khalapar police station, said an FIR had been registered under Section 170 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), a provision that empowers police to arrest a person without a warrant to prevent the commission of a cognisable offence.
Police said the reel showed the vlogger travelling through different parts of the city while promoting food items sold at the restaurant.
Amid the growing hate campaign against him, Ahmed uploaded two separate apology videos addressed to the residents of Muzaffarnagar, expressing regret over the incident.
A resident, on condition of anonymity, told Maktoob, “Anas is a food vlogger, and he documents food and places in the city to make them more famous.”
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com.