Overview
- A short video that circulated online on Friday showed a young man reportedly drinking from a beer can while bathing in the Ganga at Lalita/Assi ghat and drew sharp public condemnation.
- An advocate named Shashank Shekhar Tripathi filed a complaint and Dashashwamedh police registered a FIR citing sections described as promoting enmity and outraging religious feelings.
- Police identified the accused as Santosh, a resident of Rohtas district in Bihar, and said a team has been dispatched to Bihar to locate and arrest him; no confirmed arrest has been reported.
- Religious leaders and local officials condemned the act as an insult to the river’s sanctity, and the Varanasi police chief had recently ordered tougher enforcement of bans on intoxicants and littering at ghats.
- This episode follows an earlier months‑old controversy over people eating on the Ganga that led to arrests and later bail, highlighting how viral clips are triggering fast police action and cross‑state probes.