Overview
- A video that circulated online shows a young man pulling a white skullcap from a visibly startled elderly Muslim man during a crowded procession in Marehra, Etah.
- Police say they used the footage to identify and arrest six suspects named as Ramvakil, Sachin, Durgesh, Vipin, Yogesh and Rinku.
- The force registered a suo motu FIR invoking multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to rioting and promoting enmity between groups.
- After community leaders visited the victim’s home the accused delivered apologies on camera and at the house, and the 70-year-old victim Mohammad Habib said he accepted the apology and will not file a complaint.
- The case highlights how viral social media footage can trigger quick police action while exposing limits on formal redress for poor and vulnerable victims and raising wider concerns about communal harmony at politically attended processions.