Uttarakhand BJP leaders accused of alleged rapes while Muslim shops ransacked over eve-teasing charges amidst provocative slogans at Nandghat in Chamoli district, selective outrage by CM Dhami

Uttarakhand BJP leaders accused of alleged rapes while Muslim shops ransacked over eve-teasing charges amidst provocative slogans at Nandghat in Chamoli district, selective outrage by CM Dhami

S.M.A.KAZMI

Dehradun, Sept 2

While there has been a spate of incidents of rape and molestations particularly allegedly by ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers and leaders in the past few days in Uttarakhand, the shops belonging to seven to eight Muslims at Nandghat near Nandprayag in Chamoli district were attacked and ransacked by right wing Hindu groups on the allegations of teasing of a minor girl by a Muslim barber on September 1, 2024.

The shops owned by Muslims were attacked and ransacked right wing Hindu groups amidst provocative slogan shouting against minority Muslim community in the presence of a large police force which were mere mute spectators. The trouble was brewing in the area following a complaint lodged by father of a minor girl against Arif Khan, a barber shop owners of making indecent gestures to her daughter. A case was registered against the alleged accused who absconded but was later on Sunday evening arrested by the police from Bijnore in Uttar Pradesh.

A procession was taken out by right wing Hindu groups in the Nandghat market raising provocative slogans which ultimately attacked and ransacked Muslim shops. This has been a pattern in the hills of Uttarakhand were Muslim community has been targeted by BJP/RSS groups on one pretext or other.

Earlier, last month, nearly a dozen Muslims who had been living and working for the past more than two decades were thrown out of their shops and forced to leave on the trumped up charges of ‘Love Jehad’ against a Muslim student at Chauras in Kirtinagar block of Tehri Garhwal district. The Muslims were forced to leave their hearths and homes. The police has decided to ignore these cases involving Muslims and looked the other way since Muslims are poor and afraid to lodge their complaints. Most of them have quietly left.

On the hand, the ruling BJP in Uttarakhand faced acute embarrassment when during the national outrage on Kolkata rape and murder of a doctor, two of its senior leaders were accused of rape in two separate incidents sparking outrage and forcing the party to sack these leaders. Mukesh Bora, a senior BJP leader of Nainital district who is also an administrator of  Uttarakhand Cooperative Dairy Federation was accused of rape and intimidation by a widow daily worker of the dairy federation. In her complaint to the police, she charged that she was given a job by Mukesh Bora in 2021. He took her to a hotel in November and December 2021 and raped her on the assurance of giving her a permanent job. In her complaint, she alleged that later the accused started pressurising her to have relations with his friends also. When she refused, he sent a threat to kill her through his driver Kamal Belwal. She had to run from pillar to post to get her complaint registered which was finally lodge after public outcry under sections 376 and 506 of IPC since the crime took place before the new criminal code came into being. Mukesh Bora and Kamal Belwal have been booked but not yet arrested as police is reportedly investigating the matter.

In another case, the mother of a 14 year old girl lodged a complaint with the revenue police of Almora district that Bhagwat Singh Bora, a Mandal president of Salt area of Almora district ruling BJP molested her daughter when she had gone to the forest with their animals for grazing. The BJP leader allegedly offered her chocolate and molested her. A case has been registered against the alleged accused under relevant sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and was expelled from the party. Earlier in the month of June, a minor Dalit girl of Santarshah in Haridwar district was allegedly murdered by an accomplice of a BJP leader.

Senior Uttarakhand Congress leaders held a dharna on August 31 and September 1 to demand police action in the alleged murders of Dalit minor girl and another Muslim youth in Madhopur area of Roorkee in haridwar district.

While in Nandghat incident of targeting of Muslims in Chamoli district, the district police posted an appeal to maintain communal harmony. On the other hand, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was selective in expressing his outrage at the incidents involving crime against women. In a tweet from his official account, Chief Minister took the incident of teasing of a minor girl at Nandghat in Chamoli district very seriously and said that accused will not be spared. He asked Chamoli police to do the necessary action.

But, interestingly, Chief Minister failed to take cognizance of the fact that shops of several other innocent Muslims were ransacked and provocative slogans against minority community were raised openly and brazenly in the presence of police.

There had been planned incidents where minuscule Muslim population living the hills have been targeted in Uttarakhand since 2017 when BJP came to power in the state. The Muslims are being targeted on any pretext and collective punishments meted out by right wing Hindu mobs. Since the advent of Pushkar Singh Dhami as Chief Minister in 2021 and his triumph in 2022 state assembly polls on virulent anti-Muslim campaign there had been deliberate attempts by the state government to malign and vilify Muslim minority community in the name of ‘Love Jehad’, ‘Land Jehad’ and ‘Mazar Jehad’.