A group of kanwariyas and villagers came to blows in Haridwar district on Saturday evening after a car brushed against a kanwar — a bamboo pole with pitchers attached on both sides.
The incident occurred when the car, ferrying a Muslim man and his extended family, was passing through Peerpura village. Some angry kanwariyas damaged the car and allegedly attacked its six occupants. Soon, several villagers gathered at the spot and started raining blows on the kanwariyas.
Tempers cooled following the intervention of police who offered protection to the kanwariyas as they proceeded to Haridwar.
Later, a large number of villagers assembled at Kotwali police station alleging that the cops favoured the kanwariyas.
Vivek Kumar, the circle officer of Manglaur, said: “The villagers and the kanwariyas clashed over a minor dispute. We have registered a case against six unidentified kanwariyas on the complaint of the car owner.”
Mohammad Nazim of Akbarpur Dhadheki village was quoted as telling the police that he was returning from Bharat Nagar in Roorkee with his sister-in-law and her three children when the car accidentally touched a kanwar.