The two vegetable vendors from Uttar Pradesh’s Varanasi, who were accused of instigating protests against security deployed for tomatoes amid sky-high prices, were released on bail on Wednesday night.
Jagnarayan Yadav and his son Vikas Yadav were arrested on Sunday after a video went viral on social media showing the owner of the grocery shop – Ajay Fauji, who is also a worker of the Samajwadi Party, hiring two bouncers to protect the tomatoes in his shop. Fauji decided to deploy security after the prices of tomatoes soared increasingly in the country.
The father-son duo were welcomed after they were released on bail. They took care of the shop of Ajay Fauji, India Today reported.
In the video, Ajay Fauji also known as Ajay Yadav claimed that the reason behind the security bouncers in his shop was to prevent the buyers from getting unruly while they bargain over the tomato prices.
On the basis of the allegations made, the police in Varanasi filed an FIR against sections 153-A, 295-A, and 505(2) of the Indian Penal Code against the two, who took care of Ajay Fauji’s shop for instigating the protests.
Fauji had earlier said, “I kept hearing about arguments over the tomato price among people. People at my shop too tried to haggle. So to put an end to the constant arguments, I decided to deploy bouncers in uniform at my cart”.
A spokesperson from the Samajwadi Party’s state unit has also said that the protest against the price of tomatoes was only satirical in nature, but the administration did not take it lightly and took necessary action.