A 46-year-old far-right Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) worker identified as Varinder Parmar died of a heart attack during a protest against mosques, Waqf Board and immigrants in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur town on Saturday, September 28.
Hundreds of people took out a rally in Hamirpur on Saturday under the banner of Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti, demanding abolishing the Waqf Board and verifying the identification documents of migrants to the state.
During the demonstration, Parmar reportedly fainted and fell while protesters were preparing to submit a memorandum to local authorities demanding that the Waqf Board be abolished and the identification documents of immigrants be checked. Despite being rushed to Hamirpur Medical College, he was pronounced dead upon arrival, with initial reports attributing his death to a heart attack.
Hindu groups and locals have been demanding the demolition of an unauthorised portion of the mosque in Sanjauli. Ten people sustained injuries during protests on September 11, a day after the Muslim community urged the municipal commissioner to seal the unauthorised portion and also offered to demolish it by a court order.
Leaders of the Devbhoomi Sangharsh Samiti warned the government not to take the issue lightly and help Hindus live peacefully in the state “rather than helping outsiders without valid documents”.
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