New Delhi: In a curious twist, the man whose niece was the target of an alleged abduction attempt in Purola has denied any religious angle or motive to the matter, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.
“There were attempts from the first hour to make this a communal issue. Right-wing activists even prepared a police complaint for us on their own, but the police didn’t accept it. It was never a love jihad case, but a regular crime. Those that committed it, are behind bars. The judiciary will now decide,” he reportedly told the Hindustan Times. The identity of the man is being withheld to avoid identification of his niece, the report said.
The man also said he has been approached by several right-wing groups, but he is firm on not joining the agitation being led by the Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). “I have turned them down every time. Their attempts to reach me have made my life hell. I can’t even go out. I understand all they want to do is to create communal tension and their only aim is raising slogans. I have stopped responding to calls from unknown numbers and have even bought a new number,” he said.
Close to a month ago, on the afternoon of May 26, the man’s niece sought directions from Ubed Khan, 24, and Jitendra Saini, 23, when they allegedly attempted to bundle her into an auto-rickshaw, the Hindustan Times reported. “They took the girl away from the main market area near a petrol pump and called an auto-rickshaw to the spot. Locals saw the girl being made to sit in the rickshaw and raised an alarm. The accused then fled from the spot,” Purola police station in-charge Khajan Chauhan said.
A case was registered on the same day at the Purola police station under sections 363 (kidnapping), 366A (procuration of minor girl) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the POCSO Act, and the next day both men were arrested.
This act, a simple crime, was used to single out the identity of one of the perpetrators and unleash an unholy month of terror on the lives of Muslims of Purola and neighbouring towns.
While the man remains grateful to the police for the prompt arrest of the two men, the man said he was unhappy that the incident was “used” to make Muslims leave, the report said.
“I wanted to extend my support for Muslims but was afraid that it wouldn’t be taken positively in this atmosphere. Every time I open Facebook, most news-related videos say this was a case of love jihad. It makes me depressed. Nobody asks me what the real story is,” he said.
Over the past fortnight, over 40 of the 45 Muslim families among Purola’s 8,000 residents have either left for Dehradun or Uttar Pradesh, the Hindustan Times reported. “Those who left should have never gone. I want them back. The whole community shouldn’t be targeted for the offence of one,” the girl’s uncle said.
The motivated communal strife in Purola and neighbouring areas ensued after right-wing groups began calling the incident a ‘love-jihad’ case and forced Muslims to shut their shops or flee the town.
Uttarakhand police were stark in their inaction when these developments took place. In fact only after concerned citizens moved the Supreme Court and then the High Court, was Section 144 imposed to stop the potentially harmful and inflammatory Mahapanchayat planned and announced by extreme right wing groups on June 15.
According to media reports, at least 30 shops owned or rented by Muslims were attacked on May 29 and four days later, on June 3, another procession was carried out with at least 25 more shops attacked in Barkot, the Hindustan Times reported.
A letter by these organisations actually threatened and declared their intent. Besides, sinister posters warning Muslim shop owners to leave the town by June 15 or face consequences surfaced ahead of a proposed ‘mahapanchayat’. A case was registered on June 5 under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The mahapanchayat was not allowed to be organised but there have been no arrests at all so far, of those making hate speeches and promoting communalism, the report said.
The 40-year-old man also said that the law had taken its course but now believed that he may not even have filed a complaint if the accused had apologised. “We now keep her (girl) inside the house. It has left a psychological scar on her. She is good academically, but now remains concerned all the time about her future,” the girl’s uncle said.
Related:
Stop UttarakhandMahapanchayat, could lead to targeted communal violence: Petitions urge CJI
Uttarakhand HC must stop the June 15 Mahapanchayat and assure protection to all citizens
The biggest exodus of the decade: Muslims leave Uttarkashi amidst threats, hate speech
Muslim Mahapanchayat in Uttarakhand to raise concerns over targeting of community
Uttarkashi: Cross marks, “leave” threats on Muslim shops, hatred spreads to other towns: Uttarakhand
Oath for economic boycott of minorities administered in Chhattisgarh
Marginalising the already marginalised: Economic Boycott Targeting Muslims
Are increasing calls for economic boycott of Muslims a sinister precursor to something worse?