Some outsiders and miscreants are being blamed for disturbing the peace of the village.
Waquar Hasan | Clarion India
NEW DELHI – Reports of Muslims boycotting Hindus or giving a fatwa from a mosque to boycott them are not only “misleading” but also “false,” police in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district have said.
The police response came after several news outlets published reports claiming that Muslims in Jafarpur Mahauwa village in Manjhanpur Tehsil have stopped doing business with the Hindus and proclaimed a fatwa from a mosque asking them not to buy anything from shops belonging to Hindus.
According to a report in Dainik Bhaskar, there was a talk of Muslims not allowing their water resources and other personal properties to be used by Hindus. The report said Muslims would impose a penalty on the one violating the boycott calls.
The report claimed that these boycott calls emanate from a face-off between the members of two communities over a dispute related to a temple. A Muslim family, whose house is adjacent to a temple, wants to open a door in his house towards the temple. However, members of the Hindu community oppose this move claiming that they will be offended by the activities of the Muslim family at their home. The issue has resulted in simmering tension between the two communities and that has been continuing since the start of the month.
In a statement issued on Monday, the Kaushambi police refuted these allegations describing them as “false” and “misleading”. The police said that a team of policemen led by West Shrira police station SHO visited the village on 30 June and held a meeting with all communities over the allegation levelled on social media.
“People at the village told us that no such fatwa was issued. Some outsiders and miscreants are disturbing the peace of the village,” said the police.
According to the police, when the villagers were asked about prohibiting people from irrigation based on religion, a man named Fakire said that someone had not paid the due for the irrigation done through his borewell. That’s why he put restrictions on the faulty customer.
“In the meeting, we directed that no person should spread rumours. Those who spread the rumours about law and order will be penalised,” said the police.
Meanwhile, Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal have called a public gathering in Manjhanpur on 15 June over the issue.
Ved Prakash Satyarth, who introduced himself as a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kaushambi, wrote on the issue informing about the public gathering on Facebook. Posting the screenshots of the Hindi reports related to the boycott claim, he said that Hindus are being persecuted in the village.
Even on X, some users associated with the Hindutva ideology are highlighting the claims of these reports even though the police refuted the allegations.
