Last Updated:December 30, 2025, 19:59 IST

The woman claimed that the assailants barged into the cafe while she was cutting her birthday cake and began assaulting her friends.

Days after a group of right-wing activists allegedly disrupted a birthday party at a restaurant in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, the birthday girl, a 22-year-old nursing student said the incident has left her distressed and fearful, which has forced her to confine herself indoors.

“I feel deeply ashamed that my friends were harassed and assaulted. Do I now need to choose my friends based on their religion? I have confined myself to the house and not stepped out… because of fear,” she said as quoted by Indian Express.

The incident took place on Saturday in Bareilly’s Prem Nagar area where the 22-year-old student had organised a birthday party at a restaurant. The gathering was attended by nine of her friends—five women and four men. Of the four men, two were identified as Shaan and Waqib.

According to police, the presence of youths from another community with a Hindu woman prompted members of a right-wing organisation to enter the restaurant, disrupt the celebration, raise slogans and accuse those present of “love jihad.”

After receiving information about the incident, officials from the Prem Nagar police station reached the spot and took the student and others to the police station for questioning. Initially, Shan was taken into custody, while Waqif fled from the scene. Later the police detained Waqib along with the cafe owner, Shailendra Gangwar, invoking provisions of breach of peace. All three were released later on bail on personal bonds.

The woman claimed that the assailants barged into the cafe while she was cutting her birthday cake and began assaulting her friends. “They started beating Waqib and Shaan and misbehaved with the others, including me, while questioning us about our religion,” she told the news outlet. She claimed that the the two youths suffered severe injuries and that the attackers even attempted to snatch her mobile phone.

As per the report, the woman has been living in her nursing institute’s hostel for the past four years. She has now left the hostel and is staying at her aunt’s house in Bareilly. A native of Badaun district, her father is a farmer, and she is the eldest of two siblings.

She said the incident has affected her mental health and reputation. “I am going through depression. It has ruined my image locally and across the country. I don’t understand who gave these people the authority to judge me or decide who I should be friends with,” she told the Indian Express.

She said that her parents were aware of her friends and had no objection to the celebration. She alleged that the attack appeared to be planned and urged the police to investigate who alerted the assailants about the gathering.

Police have so far arrested five people in connection with the incident. However, the key accused, Rishabh Thakur and Deepak Pathak, are yet to be arrested, officials said. While it was alleged that the two have links with the Bajrang Dal, the organisation’s Bareilly coordinator Aryan Chaudhary denied the claim.

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