Restaurant owner booked over Vishu manthi ad

Kottayam: An owner of a restaurant that serves the meat-based dish manthi was taken into custody for depicting Lord Krishna alongside the dish in an advertisement released on Vishu day. Cherthala police booked Alappuzha native Shamnas (30) under Section 192 of the BNS (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot if rioting is committed; if not committed). After registering an FIR, Cherthala police took Shamnas into custody on Friday. Shamnas is one of the partners of the ‘Meher Mandi and Grills' restaurant in Cherthala. The FIR has also named another partner, Arshad, 36, as an accused. According to Cherthala police, a suo motu case was registered after noticing the advertisement being circulated as the WhatsApp status of the accused. The accused circulated the Vishu greetings of the restaurant from 1am on April 15, in which Hindu deity Lord Krishna is seen having ‘kuzhimanthi', a variation of manthi in which rice is served. The FIR says that the action was with the intention of disturbing those who followed the Hindu religion and also meant to affect public peace. Police conducted a probe after a section of media reported that the post created religious hatred.Meanwhile, the restaurant claimed that the poster was not circulated anywhere. It was only put up as a WhatsApp status once and was not shared elsewhere. Realizing it was inappropriate for public circulation, it was removed, and an apology was posted on social media, he said. Meanwhile, VHP staged a protest march to the restaurant.