Beef at cafe? YouTuber booked for remarks on Fort Kochi eatery

In the video, Darren claimed that the Kashi Art Cafe has multiple small images of Jinnah along with that of Mahatma Gandhi, and its menu is all about beef items.

Kochi: A YouTuber has been booked for a video wherein he allegedly made communal remarks that a cafe in Keralam’s Fort Kochi displayed statues of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and served beef.

According to The Times of India, sources in the state Home Minister’s office said on Saturday, October 24, that the Fort Kochi police has registered a case against Amrit Singh Darren under Sections 353(2) (penalises the creation, publication, or circulation of false information, rumours, or alarming news that promotes enmity or hatred between different groups) and 192 (wantonly or malignantly giving provocation with the intent to cause a riot) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for the video on his Instagram account.

In the video, Darren claimed that the Kashi Art Cafe has multiple small images of Jinnah along with that of Mahatma Gandhi, and its menu is all about beef items.

The FIR said that the video claimed the cafe served beef as it was a Muslim-dominated area.

The video was posted around 6 am on October 22; it is not available on Darren’s Instagram account now.

Vijayan reacts

Seeking legal action against those spreading enmity, Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the YouTuber’s remarks. Taking to X, he wrote, “Fort Kochi and Varkala are places where cultures meet, histories intertwine, and diversity thrives.”

He added, “Now, a vlogger peddling hate for profit seeks to paint these vibrant destinations in communal colours. Having failed to divide Keralam, the Sangh Parivar is outsourcing its hate campaign to online provocateurs. But Keralam’s secular spirit will not yield to their politics of hatred. The state government must take strict legal action against those spreading communal enmity.”