Overview
- A group of men damaged a school van carrying seven children after a minor road dispute in Lucknow’s Chowk area on Monday, leaving students frightened but reportedly uninjured.
- Lucknow Police registered an FIR against unidentified persons, traced three motorcycle registration numbers from footage, and on Wednesday arrested 20-year-old Anuj Rajput while identifying five other suspects.
- Officers seized the motorcycle believed to have been used and formed teams to arrest the remaining accused as investigations based on CCTV and viral videos continue.
- Eyewitnesses and the van driver say stones were thrown and that the attackers were Kanwariyas, but police have not confirmed stone-pelting or the attackers’ identities and key factual disputes remain unresolved.
- The episode has fed wider debate about law enforcement and crowd management during the Kanwar Yatra, prompted parental outrage over initial police handling, and coincided with other yatra-related clashes that have drawn political attention.