On the evening of Friday, July 26, a high-speed vehicle travelling on the wrong side of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway collided with Hindu devotees participating in the Kanwar Yatra. The incident occurred in Partapur, near the intersection of the Delhi-Dehradun Highway and the Delhi-Meerut Expressway.
According to reports, the speeding car struck a Kanwar, a sacred water pot carried by Hindu devotees making their pilgrimage from Haridwar to Ghaziabad. The collision resulted in significant damage to the Kanwar, rendering the devotee’s religious journey futile.
Kanwariyas, who are Hindu devotees participating in the Yatra, attempted to confront and apprehend the occupants of the car, leading to a violent clash.
While three of the four accused individuals managed to escape the scene, the Kanwariyas succeeded in capturing one suspect, whom they then handed over to the police. The car occupants were later identified as belonging to the Muslim community.
This revelation sparked controversy, with some Islamist groups using the incident to propagate the narrative of Muslim victimhood and criticize the Kanwar Yatra—a traditional Hindu pilgrimage.
Media reports on the incident have portrayed the car occupants as victims, alleging that Kanwariyas engaged in violence and vandalism against them over what was described as a “minor incident.” This portrayal has fueled further controversy and criticism.
The accident took place when the car, travelling on the wrong side of the road, crashed into the Kanwar of a devotee. The impact shattered the water pot, disrupting the religious procession.
Kanwariyas, who carry holy water from sacred locations such as Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand for religious rituals, were particularly distressed by the damage to their Kanwar.
Following the collision, Kanwariyas attempted to detain the car’s occupants, resulting in a confrontation. The police arrived at the scene, led by SP Traffic Raghavendra Singh, CO Brahmapuri Pramod Kumar, and CEO Suchita Singh, who managed to calm the situation. The authorities arranged for the affected Kanwariya to collect fresh Ganga Jal from Haridwar and took custody of the involved vehicle.
In their accounts, Kanwariyas reported that the car had been coming from the wrong side despite their warnings.
“The Kanwar has been broken due to the collision. We signalled the car riders that we were carrying the Kanwar and that they were coming from the wrong side, but they ignored us. This is why this accident happened. Our Kanwar was broken,” said one of the affected devotees.
The ensuing violence and media portrayal have led to widespread debate. Critics argue that the media’s depiction of Kanwariyas as aggressors, alongside Islamist narratives of victimhood, has unfairly targeted the Hindu religious practice of Kanwar Yatra.
#Kanwad yatra is open license to hooliganism. In Meerut, a Muslim man was brutally thrashed while 3 other fled the brutal attack when their car touched a kanwad on the road. pic.twitter.com/6zvTnRnOz5
— Aasif Mujtaba (@MujtabaAasif) July 26, 2024
Several users on social media platform X have highlighted the discrepancy between the incident’s reality and its portrayal, accusing both media reports and Islamist narratives of distorting the facts. They have called out the attempts to malign the Kanwar Yatra and its participants, emphasizing that the incident’s coverage does not accurately reflect the truth.
कांवड़ यात्रा के बारे में कहीं सकारात्मक बातें पढ़ने को नहीं आतीं। ऐसा लगता है जैसे- जानबूझकर एक तरह का माहौल बनाया जा रहा हो। यात्रा क्यों होती है, कैसे होती है, कितनी चुनौतीपूर्ण है आदि बातों की कोई चर्चा नहीं। कांवड यात्रा को लेकर हंगामे, तोड़-फोड़, ट्रैफिक जाम जैसी ही…
— Akhilesh Sharma (@akhileshsharma1) July 27, 2024
पूरी मीडिया इस खबर पर चुप क्यों ?
कांवड़ियों के खिलाफ बड़ी साजिश हो रही है!
कांवड़ यात्रा को बदनाम करने की साजिश रची जा रही है।
पहले कांवड़ियों पर गाड़ी चढ़ाया, एक कांवड़िए की मौत हो गयी।
उसके बाद कांवड़ यात्रियों को ही हिंसक बताकर फंसा दिया गया।
4 मुसलमानों ने गलत साइड में… pic.twitter.com/XjY7A8Pjmh
— Panchjanya (@epanchjanya) July 26, 2024
The incident has ignited discussions about the portrayal of religious events and communal tensions in the media, reflecting ongoing sensitivities and the complexities of religious and communal dynamics in India.
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