WATCH | Violent scuffle breaks out among tourists during river-rafting in Rishikesh

A violent scuffle broke out among tourists during rafting in the Ganga river in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, the video of which is going viral on social media platforms.

As per news agency ANI, the incident took place on Saturday (20 May).

The video clip shared by ANI shows groups of people thrashing each other violently with rafting paddles in the middle of the Ganga River.

In the video, three tourists can be seen jumping into the river in a bid to escape the attack.

A man can be heard asking someone in the combatant raft, "Park the boat to the side...You will sink us!" Whereas, the rafting guides can be heard asking the tourists to sit down.

"A violent scuffle broke out among rafters during river rafting in Rishikesh, yesterday," wrote news agency ANI while sharing the video on its official Twitter handle.

As per ANI, SP Tehri Garhwal Navneet Bhullar said that the police are investigating the incident that took place in the north Indian state of Uttarakhand. He further added that a case will also be registered in this matter.

The exact reason behind the assault is not yet known.

The video has garnered over 8,500 views till now and various users have reacted to it out of which some have condemned the tourists for creating an upheaval.

"This is the reality of tourists in every state they bring their filth into every tourist place," wrote one user.

"Looks like they are gangsters got violent due to their rivalry," wrote another.

"It's a very shameful incident and must be enquired into properly and stern action be taken against the erring person, to ensure non-repetition of such incidents. Uttarakhand is - Simply Heaven. There should not be any place for the violence, in the state," commented another user. 

"I am so grateful that I was born in such a country of idiots and I am amongst them," a user jokingly remarked.

As per the Indian Express, Muni Ki Reti SHO Ritesh Shah said that some people claimed that the incident occurred three days ago, while others asserted that the video was much older.

“We also do not know the exact location of this violent scuffle as there is not much in the video. There are two different police station jurisdictions in the Rishikesh rafting path. We are trying to confirm the rafting company based on the logo on the rafts… We will also write a letter to the tourism officer and request him to cancel the licence of the company and the rafting guide,” Indian Express quoted Shah as saying.

“The video came to our knowledge on Saturday, but we have not received any complaint. We are trying to confirm the rafting company by closely inspecting the video. We will call them and confirm when the incident took place,” said Tehri Garhwal SSP Navneet Singh.