Police armed with batons charged at worshippers in Varanasi when the crowd attempted to immerse Ganesha statues in the river Ganges.
Watch the commotion below.
The footage recorded on Wednesday shows police blocking the path to the river and repeatedly striking pilgrims with wooden batons until they move away. Worshippers can be seen pleading with the officers to stop.
In 2013, the Allahabad High Court ordered a complete ban on the immersion of statues in the Ganges in order to control increasing pollution. Since then, clashes between worshippers and the police have taken place often.
