Hundreds of people cheer the looters and raise provocative slogans in Nahan town
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Hindutva groups vandalised and looted a Muslim-owned garment shop in Himachal Pradesh’s Nahan town on Wednesday after the latter posted two photos of animal sacrifice as his WhatsApp status.
The looting occurred even as the police stood as silent spectators, reports reaching here said.
Shopowner Javed, originally from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, has been running his business in Nahan for several years.
In a video that has emerged on social media platforms, the mob is seen forcibly opening the shop in the presence of police personnel. The Hindutva mob threw out clothes from the shop as hundreds of gathered people cheered and chanted slogans like “Ek Hi Nara Ek Hi Naam, Jai Shri Ram.”.
The police put the shutters of the shop down only after most of the items were looted or destroyed.
Hindutva groups including ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad) and the Traders Association first created a ruckus in the town on Tuesday. They also issued a warning to shop owners not to rent out their properties to Muslims from outside. They were also asked to get the properties vacated immediately if already rented out to Muslims.
The groups also filed a complaint with the police claiming that their sentiments were hurt by the photos and demanded strict action against the shopkeeper.
They called for a bandh and gathered in large numbers on Wednesday at the local market. Meanwhile, a Muslim group Anjuman Islamiya also condemned the WhatsApp status of the shopkeeper and demanded action against him.
Another video shows that a march was taken out in the town in which provocative slogans were raised. The crowd shouted slogans like “Goli Maro Saalon Ko” (Shoot the rascals).
The viral video of looting and vandalising the shop has sparked criticism on social media.
Author Radhika Govindrajan said that the state is complicit in these incidents of anti-Muslim violence as cops did nothing except watch from the sidelines.
“Anti-Muslim violence has become such a common occurrence across the Central Himalayas. The fact that the state is complicit is on display in the video where the cops are just standing aside and letting the mob run free,” she posted on X.
Journalist Fatima Khan said: “The kind of rabid communal anger I saw in parts of Himachal Pradesh while reporting on the elections last month was quite something. Men sitting in groups calmly would start to froth from the mouth, screaming things from the typical WhatsApp anti-Muslim playbook”.
Several social media users also held the state government accountable for allowing violence against Muslims. They also criticised the ruling Congress party ruling the state for its inaction.
