Tension continues in Uttarakhand village after alleged elopement bid

Many Muslim shopkeepers are believed to have left the area since, though the authorities refuted this and said the situation in the area was back to normal.

Tensions erupted on May 27, a day after some people caught two men along with a girl. With one of the two men a Muslim, residents alleged it was a case of “love jihad”.

While the girl, a minor, was sent back home, police said the two men “Ubaid Khan (24) and Jitendra Saini (23)” were booked under Sections 363 (kidnapping) 366A (procuration of minor girl) of the IPC & under sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. They are currently in judicial custody.

According to locals, the concerned area has only around 7-8 Muslims families who are “permanent residents”. The rest arrive during yatra season to run part-time businesses or small shops and live on rent.

A shop owner from the minority community, who requested anonymity, said that following the incident many Muslims, including him, had temporarily left. “A few youths threatened to vandalize my shop if I did not shut it down. I decided to close my shop. I then informed the local trade union president who took me to the police. The next day we came to know that a big rally was planned and I decided to keep my shop closed. During the rally some people vandalised the hoardings and flex boards of shops owned by Muslims,” he said.

He said that around 500 shops in the area are run by the Hindus while only 30-40 were of the Muslims.

Virendra Rawat, working president of the VHP, accused people from the minority community of “conducting illegal activities in the area in the garb of running businesses”.

Another businessman from the Muslim community, who claimed that his family has been living in the area for the last 45 years, said his shop too has been shut for the last 8 days.

The area SDM told The Indian Express the reports of people leaving the area were false. Uttarkashi SP Arpan Yaduvanshi also said he had not received any complaint or information so far of people leaving the area in fear.

Brij Mohan Chauhan, a senior official of the area, said: “After the rallies, the Muslim shop owners have not opened their shops… Though a lot of people are demanding that all those from the minority community should leave, but being from the vyapar mandal we do not favour this. We do not want those verified to be troubled,” he said.