The Muslim owners were forced to vacate their ancestral abodes after threats from members of some Hindutva outfits who wanted the Muslims to leave the town before June 15 due to an alleged "Love Jihad" incident.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Three abandoned homes of Muslims in the volatile Purola town in Uttarakhand have been put up for sale, media reports reaching here said on Thursday.
The Muslim owners of these deserted and locked homes were forced to vacate their ancestral abodes after threats from members of some Hindutva outfits who wanted the Muslims to leave the town before June 15 due to an alleged “Love Jihad” incident.
The house owners vacated their properties at the beginning of this month.
“They left in the middle of the night. As far as we know, they have no plans to return. They are looking for buyers for their ancestral houses. It’s very unfortunate. We do hope they change their minds,” a member of the minority community living nearby was quoted by the Times of India as saying.
The owners of these houses couldn’t be contacted, the report said.
There are about 400-500 Muslims in Purola, a town 140 km from the state capital Dehradun.
About a dozen Muslim families have fled Purola after notices were pasted on homes and businesses asking them to vacate the town.
The threats, issued mainly by two far-right Hindu groups – the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and its youth wing, the Bajrang Dal – follow an alleged attempt by two men to kidnap a 14-year-old Hindu girl on May 26.
The two accused in the kidnapping case were immediately nabbed by residents and handed over to the police. They have been charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and other laws.
One of the accused in the kidnapping bid was a 24-year-old Muslim man, leading to allegations by Hindu groups that the kidnapping attempt was a case of “Love Jihad” – an unproven conspiracy theory that accuses Muslim men of luring Hindu women into romantic relationships in order to convert them to Islam by marriage.
Residents of Purola said the May 26 kidnapping incident was used by the Hindu groups to intensify their years-old movement that seeks to free the Himalayan state, known for its many Hindu pilgrimage sites and temple towns, of the Muslim community.
On May 27, government officials reportedly asked Muslim traders to shut their shops as some Hindu groups had planned a rally to protest against the attempted kidnapping of the girl.
_____________
Photo: Purola town
