A group of 'kanwariyas' vandalised an e-rickshaw and assaulted it driver in Haridwar's Manglaur on Wednesday. A video of the incident has been doing rounds on social media.
Reportedly, the assault broke out after the e-rickshaw accidentally hit one of the kanwariyas, in which no one was injured.
In the video, kanwariyas are seen hitting e-rickshaw with wooden sticks, causing severe damage to it. And despite attempts by the police to intervene and stop them, they continued their destructive act.
Haridwar SSP Pramod Dobhal told news agency PTI that the e-rickshaw driver, Sanjay Kumar, informed the police about accidentally hitting a "bhole (pilgrim), in which no kanwar was fragmented".
"Despite this, the pilgrim along with others assaulted him and vandalised his e-rickshaw. The police have taken cognisance of the incident and a case has been registered," Dobhal added.
Officials said that efforts to identify the individuals responsible for the assault and vandalism are underway.
The Kanwar Yatra, which began on Monday, saw a sea of pilgrims pouring into the pilgrimage city of Haridwar to collect the waters of the holy Ganga river.
District Magistrate Dhiraj Singh Garbiyal had said that the authorities decided to close the schools in the city given the increasing rush in the ongoing Kanwar Yatra season.
All government, non-government schools and Anganwadi centres in the city from class 1 to 12 will remain closed from July 27 to August 2, he said.
Director General of Police (DCP) Abhinav Kumar had earlier said that the entire Kanwar Mela area has been divided into 13 super zone, 31 zones and 126 sectors.
Dog squads, bomb disposal squads and mounted police have been deployed in the fair area and 22 drone cameras will also be used to keep an eye from the sky, an official statement had said.
Annually, during the Sawan month, Shiva devotees from many states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana travel to Haridwar and Rishikesh to collect Ganga water.
