Muslim restaurant owner arrested
('Vishu' festival is the New Year of the Malayali community)
(Chicken Mandi means chicken and rice)
(The purpose of sharing these photographs is not to hurt anyone's religious sentiments, but to inform about the mockery done by anti-Hindus; this is published with that intent. - Editor)
Kochi (Kerala) - Two persons were arrested on Friday, 17 April 2026 in connection with sharing on WhatsApp a restaurant's Vishu-day promotional poster depicting a young Lord Krishna sitting before a serving of 'kuzhi manthi' - a non-vegetarian dish, the Police said.
An officer of the Cherthala police station in Alappuzha said the two accused were booked for the 'offence' under Section 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and their arrests were recorded. According to the FIR, the accused shared the poster on WhatsApp to allegedly hurt religious sentiments of the Hindu community.
Hindu organisations expressed strong anger, alleging that the image hurt religious sentiments. Advocate M.V. Biju filed a complaint in this regard. Based on the complaint, the Police registered a case against the restaurant owner Arshad and arrested him. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad has announced a protest outside the restaurant. Meanwhile, the restaurant owner publicly apologised for the incident of the controversial poster being shared on WhatsApp. Prominent Muslim leader Ustad Ansari Suhari also condemned the incident through a Facebook video. He said, "It is not necessary that you must extend Vishu greetings, but do not spread communal hatred in the name of greetings. Such actions create unrest in society. Some mistakes can even prove fatal," he warned.