Two tourists from Israel, who were having liquor on the banks of Ganga river, were beaten up by the locals on Wednesday evening. One of the tourists, identified as Nati, ran away and locked himself inside a public toilet to save himself. Later, police pacified the situation and fined the tourists.

Nati told Times of India, "We arrived in India recently and visited Rishikesh, from where we came to Haridwar. We were not aware of the liquor prohibition in Haridwar."

SHO (city) Bhawna Kainthola said, "After getting information about the incident, two constables reached the spot and the duo was brought to the police station. They were fined Rs 500 each after which they went to their destination safely."

Last month, at least three men were arrested for allegedly thrashing a police beat marshal in Maharashtra’s Pune city. The men were stopped from consuming liquor in public.

The accused were charged under Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that deal with stopping a public servant from performing his duty and committing a nuisance in the open.

In October 2020, a man was beaten by his neighbour for objecting to consuming liquor in a public place. The victim died five days after the incident.