Etawah Tonsuring Row: Stone Pelting On Cops, 19 Detained; Akhilesh Blames BJP For Tensions

Last Updated:June 27, 2025, 18:48 IST

Bhagwat Katha preachers alleged that they were asked about their caste and humiliated allegedly by men belonging to "upper caste" in UP's Etawah.

Etawah row: Akhilesh slams BJP over tensions (Photo: X, PTI)

Tensions escalated in Dandarpur village of Uttar Pradesh’s Etawah after members of the Yadav groups on Thursday protested against the alleged caste-based tonsuring of a Bhagwat Katha preacher and his aide, demanding the arrest of all accused.

The police said that the large crowds gathered near the Agra-Kanpur highway and at the village in the Bakewar area.

Unidentified individuals pelted stones at police personnel despite the cops brandishing firearms in the air to warn the protesters.

The incident that triggered protests took place on the night of June 22-23 in the village, where two Bhagwat Katha preachers, Mukut Mani Yadav and his aide Sant Singh Yadav, were allegedly tonsured and insulted by people belonging to “upper-caste" after they found that the preachers were from the Yadav caste.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Friday slammed the BJP over the incident, describing it as a larger conspiracy to divide the state along caste lines by bringing in “planted elements" from neighbouring states.

“The BJP is deploying its ‘planted people’ with strategic surnames from neighbouring states to carry out its infiltrative politics and disturb social harmony in Uttar Pradesh. But the people of Uttar Pradesh are aware of the truth. Society here will not be divided by the actions of a few negative elements -” it will emerge even stronger," Akhilesh said on X.

UP Minister Jaiveer Singh accused Akhilesh of giving the incident a “casteist spin" and blamed him for stoking violence.

According to Etawah Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Brijesh Kumar Srivastava, as the police received information about protests by the groups, they had deployed forces in the town, on the highway and in the village to ensure law and order.

“Around 1:30 pm, a sizeable crowd started gathering on the Agra-Kanpur highway. While most were convinced to disperse, a few tried to enter Dandarpur village forcibly, which created a situation that could have disrupted peace," he said.

The SSP said that 19 people were detained and 13 vehicles were seized, adding that the situation is now normal.

Earlier in the day, hundreds of people from Yadav groups went to the Bakewar police station to surround it in protest. They were angry about the police allegedly acting against the victims instead of the accused and were demanding the arrest of those responsible.

SP (Rural) Sreesh Chandra told reporters that police tried to stop the crowd, but an argument broke out. When the protesters kept moving forward, the police used lathis (sticks) to push them back. In response, some people in the crowd threw stones at the police, and a police jeep’s windshield was damaged. Some protesters then ran towards the Agra-Kanpur highway.

Akhilesh Yadav had shared a video of the alleged incident with the preachers, in which the accused purportedly said, “You are getting punished for coming to the village of Brahmins."

The victims alleged that they were first asked about their caste and forced to show identification, and then humiliated.

“I was tortured all night. My head was shaved, and they sprinkled urine on me, saying it was to purify me," Sant Singh Yadav said.

After the video surfaced online, the police arrested four accused identified as Ashish Tiwari, Uttam Kumar Awasthi, Nikki Awasthi, and Manu Dubey.

(With PTI inputs)

Etawah, India, India

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