The owner of the Noida franchise of Lord of the Drinks and the manager were arrested after several purported videos, showing a scene from the Ramayana TV show playing in the background, surfaced online.
The incident took place at the pub in Gardens Galleria Mall. While there was no complaint, Noida Police said they took suo motu cognizance seeing social media posts.
Police said the two men, owner Manak Chaudhary and manager Abhishek, were arrested Monday under charges of promoting enmity between different groups and outraging religious feelings.
The purported videos, uploaded on social media, show a clip from the 1980s Ramayana show being played on a big screen at the bar while several people are seen dancing to a song.
Several people tweeted expressing anger and even threatening the pub staff over the use of a clip.
“Lord of Drinks, Gardens Galleria Mall @noidapolice @Uppolice @dial112 This is making fun of Hinduism and all this is happening openly in Noida. Action should be taken on this asap. Otherwise, if any vandalism happens, they (pub staff) themselves will be responsible for it,” read one of the tweets.
Reacting to the tweet, the Police Commissionerate of Gautam Buddh Nagar posted a tweet saying they have registered a case at Sector 39 police station and made arrests.
Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Shakti Avasthy said, “The video went viral on social media Monday morning and is said to be from Lord of the Drinks resto-bar located in Gardens Galleria mall. Taking cognizance of the matter immediately, an FIR was lodged under IPC sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups)and 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings).”
Soon after the FIR was lodged, Manak and Abhishek were arrested from the bar. Police said the FIR in the case also mentions the name of the disc jockey who played the song and the video on that night.
“The DJ is in Chennai at present and will be arrested soon. We took action as several people had raised objections over the use of the clip at the bar. The manager and owner knew about the DJ and his playlist but didn’t do anything to stop it,” said an officer.
As per sources, the pub is run by Manak and his wife. Police said they might arrest his wife Tuesday morning or ask her to join the probe.
When contacted, the MD and CEO of First Fiddle Restaurants Priyank Sukhija, whose company Lord of the Drinks is under, told The Indian Express, “I don’t run the Noida franchise. We saw the video and are coordinating with the UP Police. The video shouldn’t have been played at the bar. We support legal action initiated. However, I think the fault is of the DJ because he was the one who played the video that night. The manager and other staffers were busy working in the kitchen and around the tables…”
