Hindus of Vakeelo Wali Gali, a residential area in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly’s Punjab Pura area have come out in protest against a Muslim family who recently purchased a house in their locality.
According to the protestors, the Muslim family was not welcomed and demanded an immediate annulment of the property’s registration. They even threatened a mass exodus of their demand was not met.
Former secretary of the bar association of Bareilly Arvind Srivastava said that the family hailed from Assam and was involved in the illegal possession of a local mosque.
Citing Prime Minister Modi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath’s past statements Srivastava told a local news channel that they will ‘neither allow Assamese nor Bangladeshis’ to step into their locality.
“Our Prime Minister and chief minister have said that Bangladeshis and Assamese shall not step forward. Who will be responsible for the ‘love jihad’ that this may lead to?” Srivastava asked.
‘Love jihad’ is a conspiracy theory coined by Hindutva supporters who allege Muslim men seduce Hindu women to forcefully convert them to Islam. This ‘conspiracy’ is a part of their ‘plan’ to increase the Muslim population in the country.
A few local Hindu women expressed concerns about having to deal with meat supplied in the area, which they find unacceptable.
“They [Muslims] eat meat while we strictly follow the satvik nature of life,” one of the women told the local news channel.
“We have been living here since childhood and if they start coming here, our children’s future will be disturbed,” another woman spoke. She also claimed that Muslims have a habit of interfering in religious practices and festivals.
Disappointed, says family
Shabnam purchased a house from one Vishal Saxena. While selling his property, Saxena had presented himself before the district magistrate’s office and stated that he was ready to sell his property to whoever was interested. He also stated that he would pay back the current buyers if anyone from the locality was interested in purchasing the house.
Shabnam’s brother Mohammad Naseem Bashiri is disappointed with the treatment being vested on them.
Stating his family had no ill motive behind the purchase, Bashiri said, “Had they informed us before, we would have left the house for them to buy.”
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