Watch: Senior UP police, administration officials shower rose petals on kanwariyas from helicopter

Video has emerged of senior UP police and administration officials reportedly showering rose petals on kanwariyas from a helicopter.

ANI reported and released a video of Additional Director General of Police Prashant Kumar, Meerut Zone, showering petals on kanwariyas.

ANI added that Meerut Commissioner Anita Meshram and other senior officials also showered petals on the kanwariyas along with Kumar.

Kumar later said "no religious angle should be given" to the showering of rose petals by him. He added that "flowers are used to welcome people".

And that the "administration respects all religions and actively takes part, even in Gurupurab, Eid, Bakrid or Jain festivals".

The kanwariyas are Shiva devotees who make pilgrimages each year to Haridwar, Gaumukh and Gangotri in Uttarakhand and Sultanganj in Bihar

They are however also a nuisance on the road and have picked up a reputation for violence.

On Wednesday, ANI had released a video of a group of kanwariyas attacking a car in Delhi.

ANI said the car had "brushed past them". It added that no one in the car was injured.

They had earlier released a video of kanwariyasattacking a police jeep in Bulandshahr, UP.