A similar incident occurred in Bareilly last month. After a ruckus by Hindutva groups, the Muslim buyer had to sell her newly bought house
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Close on the heels of Hindu residents raising a hue and cry over a Muslim woman purchasing a house in their area in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, a similar case has emerged from Muzaffarnagar.
On Tuesday, tension erupted in Muzaffarnagr’s Bhartiya Colony after Hindutva groups objected to the recent purchase of a house by Muslim advocate Nadeem in their area.
Nadeem acquired the property in the predominantly Hindu colony through an open bank auction. The purchase sparked strong reactions from local Hindutva groups, who organised a protest against Nadeem’s new home, reports reaching here said on Wednesday.
Protesters voiced concerns that Nadeem’s presence would lead to increased Muslim migration and the practice of Namaz (prayer) in the neighbourhood, which they feared could alter the area’s demographic balance. “We will not tolerate anyone from the Muslim community in this area,” reports cited a resident as saying. “Others from the Muslim community are also planning to move here. If they become the majority, they will eventually evict us.”
Another resident alleged that during a recent visit to Nadeem’s property, they observed a group of 10 to 20 individuals in the house, claiming they were there under the guise of cleaning but were actually performing namaz.
The Bharatiya Colony area under Nai Mandi police station limits in Muzaffarnagar district remained on edge, a report in The Hindu said. Right-wing outfits allegedly warned that under no circumstances will Muslim families be allowed to settle in the predominantly Hindu locality.
Hindutva organisations also claimed that namaz was offered in the open by dozens of people and also alleged that an organisation named Awam-e-Hind is being run from the house. Amid the uproar, the house owner at the centre of the controversy is reportedly planning to sell the property, The Hindu report said.
The police said the incident was being probed and security personnel have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order. “An investigation is going on. There were allegations about people offering prayers in the open without permission etc. We are conducting a probe and keeping an eye. There is no law and order problem in the area at the moment,” Rupali Rao, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Nai Mandi, Muzaffarnagar, told The Hindu.
In Bareilly, Hindu residents of Punjab Pura demanded that the authorities annul the registration of a house bought by a Muslim woman, threatening a mass exodus if their demand was not met.
The August 21 unrest began in the area also known as Vakeelon Waali Gali, after Vishal Saxena, a former resident, sold his property to Shabnam, a Muslim woman. The protesters, many of whom are lawyers, threatened a mass exodus if their demands were not met, with some residents placing posters on their doors declaring a “samuhik palaayan” (mass exodus).
Shabnam reportedly sold the house to a Hindu later.
