“We have lived together for 50 years and there was no controversy between the Muslims and Hindus but now some people are trying to create a rift between people on the basis of religion for political gains, but they will not succeed,” an elderly villager said.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Villagers in the Nohra village of Panipat district in violence-hit Haryana state on Thursday took down posters banning the entry of members of the Muslim community in their area.
The matter came to light when photos of the posters went viral on social media and the district administration and the police swung into action, a Hindustan Times report said on Friday.
“Youths under the influence of people of other villages installed the posters. After some people shared the photos on social media and the matter came to our notice, we called a panchayat and the banners were removed,” Kamal Kumar, the husband of village sarpanch Kiran Bala, was quoted as saying.
Around 100 members of the Muslim community live in this Gurjar community-dominated village and the villagers refuted news reports that they were told to leave the area.
“We have lived together for 50 years and there was no controversy between the Muslims and Hindus but now some people are trying to create a rift between people on the basis of religion for political gains, but they will not succeed,” an elderly villager said.
On the other hand, a local advocate Islam Ansari has filed a complaint with the office of the Superintendent of Police (SP) Panipat demanding action against those who put up such posters in the village. The Hindustan Times report said Ansari met the SP and gave a written complaint to him on the issue.
Manpree Sudan, Matlauda police station in-charge, said the posters were installed by some anti-social elements but the police and villagers took serious note of it and they were removed.
“Taking action against the people behind the installation of these posters, the villagers had called a meeting and they were left with a warning,” Sudan added.
This is the second such incident during the last couple of days. On Independence Day, a group of people allegedly participated in a tiranga yatra and tried to enter a mosque to hoist the national flag at the premises in Panipat’s Samalkha town.
Police have registered a case under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code against some unidentified persons.
