India: Hindutva protesters storm KFC outlet, demand only veg food in sacred month

Members of the Hindutva group Hindu Raksha Dal stormed a KFC outlet in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, demanding the restaurant cease serving non-vegetarian food during the holy Hindu month of Shravan.

Video videos circulating online showed a group of men, carrying saffron flags and chanting slogans, confronting staff and forcibly shutting down the outlet.

The group reportedly warned KFC employees to serve only vegetarian food in reverence of the ongoing Kanwar Yatra, a Hindu pilgrimage.

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The extremist group’s leader, Pinky Chaudhary, issued a public warning to restaurants and eateries, demanding they stop selling meat and adhere to religious dietary customs if they wish to remain open during the sacred month.

Members of a right-wing group stormed a #KFC store in #Ghaziabad, #UttarPradesh, and forced it to pull down its shutters, demanding a ban on non-vegetarian food during the month of #Shravan.#Sawan2025 #Shravan2025 pic.twitter.com/I4iYenHq3i

— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) July 18, 2025

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Nimish Patil confirmed that an FIR was registered against ten individuals for defying a public servant's order.

Authorities launched an investigation to identify and arrest the remaining culprits.

Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), India’s new criminal procedure code, was imposed. The DCP further noted that the actions of the group amounted to interference with public order.