Though it is common to see people, especially sadhus, smoking marijuana at the Ganga, especially during holy festivals, the Prayagaraj Police say the men seen smoking hookahs on the boat have defiled a place of worship.

Screengrab from the viral video.

New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday, September 1, booked eight people after a video clip went viral showing a ‘hookah and chicken’ party on a boat in the middle of the Ganges. The party took place near the ‘Sangam’ or confluence of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers in Prayagraj, formerly Allahabad, according to NDTV.

The video shows a group of men on the boat, one of them puffing on a hookah. The video also shows chicken being grilled. The Wire has not been able to independently verify the authenticity of the video.

In UP’s Prayagraj, a video of couple of men smoking Hookah and roasting chicken while picnicking on a boat has surfaced. A police probe is underway to ascertain the identity of people seen in the video. pic.twitter.com/Ev83MAiAEj

According to the Prayagraj police, two of the eight against whom it registered a first information report (FIR) have been identified. The FIR mentions six unidentified people as involved in the ‘crime’. The accused have been charged with hurting religious sentiments and defiling a place of worship.

थाना दारागंज क्षेत्रान्तर्गत कुछ व्यक्तियों द्वारा नदी में चलती हुई नाव में बैठकर हुक्का सदृश वस्तु से धूम्रपान करने व मांस पकाने के वायरल वीडियो के सम्बन्ध में अपडेटः- https://t.co/QaATZKOx4q pic.twitter.com/8jdjjnZEtp

— PRAYAGRAJ POLICE (@prayagraj_pol) August 31, 2022

“We will ensure that the accused are arrested soon, and strict legal action is taken against them”, the Prayagraj police said in a statement.

“The video appears to show both hookah and non-vegetarian food. We will ensure strict action,” Prayagraj police chief Shailesh Pandey had said on the day the video went viral, according to NDTV.

It is not clear how the men have defiled any place of worship by eating meat and smoking in their own transport vessel.

Naga Sadhu smoking a chillum during the Kumbh Mela, Allahabad, 2013. Flickr/Roshan Travel Photography. CC-BY-SA/2.0

Smoking is a common sight at the Ganga, including on holy festivals like the Kumbh Mela, when it is not tobacco but marijuana that is the smoke of choice.