{"id":311964,"date":"2026-03-26T09:46:58","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T04:16:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=311964"},"modified":"2026-05-07T10:41:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T05:11:54","slug":"varanasi-iftar-on-boat-arrests-complainants-shifting-claims-mirror-gaps-in-case-against-14-muslim-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/varanasi-iftar-on-boat-arrests-complainants-shifting-claims-mirror-gaps-in-case-against-14-muslim-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Varanasi Iftar-on-boat arrests: Complainant\u2019s shifting claims mirror gaps in case against 14 Muslim men"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a conversation with Alt News on March 23, the complainant in the Varanasi Iftar-on-boat case offered a series of shifting and evasive responses, mirroring the inconsistencies that now surround the case in which 14 Muslim men were arrested in Varanasi for breaking fast on a boat with Biriyani among other food items.<\/p>\n

The controversy began after videos of the men breaking their Ramzan fast on a boat had gone viral. A complaint filed on March 16 by Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)’s Varanasi president Rajat Jaiswal accused them of hurting religious sentiments by consuming non-vegetarian food on the river and disposing of waste into it. The police subsequently arrested 14 men under multiple charges, including hurting religious sentiments, public nuisance and polluting water. Days later, more serious charges \u2014 including extortion \u2014 were added, significantly raising the legal stakes.<\/p>\n

When Alt News contacted Jaiswal, the exchange itself became revealing.<\/p>\n

At the very outset, Jaiswal asked this correspondent if she was a Hindu. What followed was a series of pointed questions and evasive responses:<\/p>\n

Jaiswal claimed, \u201cWe have such deep faith in our Mother Ganga that even eating non-veg there is a grave sin.\u201d He insisted that full evidence had been submitted to the administration and that \u201cthe FIR was filed on that basis.\u201d<\/p>\n

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BJYM Varanasi president Rajat Jaiswal with BJP MP Anurag Thakur | Photo: Facebook<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When asked specifically about his allegation that waste (non-veg food) was dumped into the river, he said, \u201cThey ate and then washed their hands, dumping the waste.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pressed on how he knew this, he replied, \u201cEverything is known!\u201d<\/p>\n

On being asked again how he knew about the waste disposal, Jaiswal first said “I saw it myself”. When asked how he could see it if he was not present on the boat, he deflected saying that people had shared witness accounts.<\/p>\n

When asked why people had shared witness accounts with him, Jaiswal said those were shared not with him, but with the administration. He maintained: \u201cTalk to the administration, they\u2019ll explain better.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then how did he know about the waste disposal part? Alt News asked him again. Did he see it himself or in a video? Jaiswal refused to clarify, saying, \u201cCome meet me, I\u2019ll show you in person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked for his location, he responded, \u201cI live in Varanasi,\u201d after which the call was concluded.<\/p>\n

Notably, his version appeared to shift. In his video statement, Jaiswal had claimed that bones were being thrown into the Ganga. In his conversation with Alt News, this first changed to \u201cwashing hands\u201d in the river \u2014 two materially different claims, neither backed by evidence in the available videos reviewed by Alt News. He later appeared to move away from the \u201cwashing hands\u201d claim as well, reverting to a broader allegation of \u201cwaste disposal,\u201d while offering only vague assertions about how he knew what had transpired on the boat. It is significant that this claim of \u201cnon-vegetarian food being disposed of in the river\u201d forms the core of the initial FIR in the case.<\/p>\n