“A small number of Muslims live in the village. They are scared of speaking about the incident. No one is coming forward to file a complaint against the culprit.”
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Video of a huge Hindutva crowd surrounding a mosque in a siege holding saffron flags has surfaced on social media. They can be seen menacingly dancing around the structure amidst shrill chants of ‘Jai Shri Ram’. The sight is enough to send anyone into a tizzy.
According to a Lucknow-based activist, Uzma Praveen, the video is of Gahmar village of Ghazipur’s Bhadura sub-division. The incident happened on March 2 (Saturday) when former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Sunita Singh had taken out a rally.
Uzma shared the video on the social media tagging Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, Samajwadi Party chief and former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi.
देश की शांति भंग करने का काम गाजीपुर गहमर में पूर्व विधायक सुनीता सिंह ने सैकड़ों समर्थकों के साथ मस्जिद में घुसकर नमाजियों के साथ मारपीट की सरकार इसको संज्ञान में लें सुनीता सिंह के खिलाफ कड़ी कार्रवाई करें @myogiadityanath @brajeshpathakup @yadavakhilesh @Mayawati @asadowaisi pic.twitter.com/D1LlDPuLnU
— Sayyad Uzma Parveen (@UzmaParveenLKO) April 3, 2022
Divulging details about the incident, Uzma told to Clarion India that initially the video was believed to be from Rajasthan’s Karauli where communal clashes were reported. But a resident of Gahmar called up on Sunday morning tell her that the video is from his village, and not from Karauli.
“It was a student of class XII. He was so scared that he didn’t want to reveal his identity. He was not even willing to talk to the media for fear of being targeted,” she said.
According to Uzma, a small number of Muslims live in the village. They are scared of speaking about the incident. No one is coming forward to file a complaint against the culprit.
She said, “Muslim shopkeepers of Gahmar are routinely harassed by the local people who are predominantly Hindu,” she said.
She vowed to visit the village to bring out the facts about the attack on the mosque even though she feels it is not without risk as she might be targeted by those involved in the attack.
Uzma said that the police have started taking rounds of the mosque after she shared the video on her Twitter account. What’s all the more scary for her is that the people involved in the violence at the place of worship are inquiring about her. But she is committed to continue raising her voice against the incident till the culprits are punished.
Responding to her tweet, Ghazipur police confirmed that no complaint has been filed against any such incident. However, Ghazipur’s rural SP has been asked to investigate the video.
“If anyone is found guilty in the investigation, he will be meted out with stringent punishment,” assured the police.
Speaking to Lallantop, Ghazipur SP said that they have taken cognisance of the incident and filed a FIR against unknown people under IPC section 153(A).
Murtaza Ansari, a local, said that the incident happened when Hindutva groups took out a rally on the occasion of Navratri. When the rally reached the southern area of the village, some people from the rally hoisted saffron flags on the mosque and chanted religious slogans. The mob, which was there at the mosque for five minutes, sprayed colours on the mosque.
Abdullah Khan, who lives in the neighboring village of Bara, also confirmed to Clarion India about the incident. He also corroborated that fact that the incident happened when Sunita Singh had taken out a rally.
Abdullah, however, assured that the situation in the village where there are only a dozen Muslim homes is normal.
