Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh – In a shocking and deeply disturbing incident along the Kanwar Yatra route in Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar, hotel and eatery workers were reportedly subjected to invasive and humiliating treatment by a mob led by self-styled seer Swamy Yashveer Maharaj. In one egregious case, a hotel cook was allegedly forced to remove his pants to “prove” his religion after failing to produce an Aadhaar card, reported the Siasat.
The appalling act occurred during a campaign spearheaded by Yashveer Maharaj and over 5,000 of his supporters, who have been coercively inspecting food stalls and restaurants since June 28, claiming that some eateries with “Hindu” names are secretly run by Muslims.
Gopal, a cook at Pandit Ji Vaishnav Dhaba, narrated the traumatic experience: “I didn’t have my Aadhaar card. They said they must confirm if I was Hindu or Muslim. They told me to strip. I feel sick after what they did to me.”
The incident has triggered widespread outrage, with civil rights advocates and political observers calling it a gross violation of human dignity and religious freedom. Forcing someone to undress in public as a means of religious verification has been condemned as a heinous and dehumanising act.
Shockingly, Muzaffarnagar’s Superintendent of Police Satyanarayan Prajapat declined to comment when questioned by Siasat.com, despite the incident clearly violating fundamental constitutional rights.
Maharaj, meanwhile, unabashedly defended his vigilante campaign. Speaking to reporters, he falsely claimed, “Many Muslim-run eateries operate using names of Hindu deities. They mix cow meat, spit, or urine in food, making men impotent and women infertile.”
He added that the group checks Aadhaar cards only to match staff names with their eateries’ signboards and claimed the movement had the tacit support of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who had earlier instructed that restaurant owners display their names publicly.
Despite a Supreme Court order last year staying such religious profiling, this campaign continues unabated. In July 2024, Muzaffarnagar police had issued an order mandating all shopkeepers to display their names and religious identity, which had been widely criticised as discriminatory and communal.
With nearly half the population of Muzaffarnagar being Muslim, the intimidation and public shaming of workers on communal grounds is a cause for serious concern. Human rights groups have reiterated that such vigilantism endangers the safety and dignity of countless individuals simply trying to earn a living.
Legal experts and activists demand immediate accountability and justice for the victims. “This is not just moral policing — it is psychological and physical abuse. It is criminal,” said one activist.
The shameful act of stripping a man to “prove” his faith reflects the alarming rise in bigotry-fueled violence in India’s heartland, where even basic human decency is being sacrificed in the name of religion.
