The incident has drawn condemnation on social media with some users tagging Uttarakhand Police asking them to take action.
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – A mob led by staunch Hindutva exponent, Radha Semwal Dhoni, on Tuesday surrounded a shop and hounded two Muslim men after a ‘Jai Shri Ram’ poster was found on the wall of the shop in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun.
Hindutva Watch, an initiative which monitors hate crimes in India, posted the video of the incident through its X handle on Wednesday. “A group of far-right supporters heckled two Muslim men who had subleased shop from a Hindu landlord,” wrote the group along with video.
Uttarakhand-based Hindutva leader Dhoni live-telecast the video of the incident through her Facebook page. She has been telecasting live her vigilante activities through the same Facebook page.
The video of the latest incident shows a group of men interrogating two Muslim men for having ‘Jai Shri Ram’ poster on the wall of his shop. In response, the shopkeepers replied that the shop does not belong to them but another person, who is a Hindu and he had put up the poster. They have taken the shop on the rent and doing business for the last six months. The mob refused to believe them and asked them to call the shop owner.
“If he had rented the shop to a Muslim man, the name of the shop must be changed,” demanded the mob leader raising objections to the shop named ‘Aman Store’.
The shopkeepers called the owner and got him to talk to Dhoni. Over the phone, the owner told the mob that the shop belongs to him, even then the mob entered the shop and took down the poster. Some of the mob even shouted at the shopkeepers.
“If you want to put up this poster on the wall, you should come to the fold of Hinduism. You should do ghar wapsi,” said one among the mob.
The incident has drawn condemnation on social media with some users tagging Uttarakhand Police asking them to take action.
“Hello @uttarakhandcops why are these goons harassing Muslims in Uttrakhand?? Why govt and police don’t take action against these people?” wrote social media activist Md Asif Khan.
Journalist Sarayu Pani said: “Either they’re lynching Muslims to force them to say JSR on camera or they’re threatening them because they have a picture that says JSR in their shop. The only point is the random harassment of Muslim people and businesses”.
Another social media user Ranjona Banerji posted: “Poor Dehradun, poor Uttarakhand. Being turned into a cheap, divisive, communal mini UP. Having made all that effort to break away.”
