FIR against UP school teacher for reciting poem allegedly critical of Kanwar Yatra
A viral video showed the person reciting a poem which said that one should not embark on the pilgrimage and instead ‘light the lamp of knowledge’.
The Uttar Pradesh Police have booked a government school teacher in Bareilly for reciting a poem allegedly critical of the Kanwar Yatra during the morning assembly in school, The Indian Express reported on Tuesday.
The poem, recited by Rajneesh Gangwar, had sparked protests by residents demanding action against the teacher.
The first information report against Gangwar was filed based on a complaint by the Kanwar Seva Samiti.
He was booked under a section of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita about statements conducing to public mischief. Gangwar has not been arrested so far and the investigation is on, the newspaper quoted Baheri Station House Officer Sanjay Tomar as saying.
A video widely shared on social media showed Gangwar reciting a poem saying that one should not “embark on the Kanwar Yatra” and instead “light the lamp of knowledge”.
"Don't embark on kanwar yatra, light the lamp of knowledge instead," UP govt teacher's poem lands him in soup
— Piyush Rai (@Benarasiyaa) July 14, 2025
A complaint was registered against govt teacher Rajneesh Gangwar in UP's Bareilly over the poem he recited. In the five-minute video, the teacher is purportedly heard… pic.twitter.com/0HvoKwas4h
During the Kanwar Yatra, devotees, called Kanwariyas, walk hundreds of kilometres to collect water from the Ganga near Haridwar and carry it back to their home states to offer at temples.
The devotees mainly come from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh.
This year’s Kanwar Yatra started on Saturday and will conclude on August 9.
