‘It was never a love jihad case’: Complainant on bid to abduct in Uttarkashi

Purola (Uttarkashi): For more than two weeks now, he has remained cloistered at home, refusing to meet the people that arrive at his door to elicit his support, and has even bought a new phone number. A government schoolteacher, the 40-year-old man is the complainant in a police case now at the centre of tensions in Purola – a case that he says is being given a communal colour when there exists no religious angle.

“There were attempts from the first hour to make this a communal issue. Right-wing activists even prepared a police complaint for us on their own, but the police didn’t accept it. It was never a love jihad case, but a regular crime. Those that committed it, are behind bars. The judiciary will now decide,” he told HT. His identity is being withheld to avoid identification of his niece, who was the target of an abduction attempt on May 26 – the crime that right-wing Hindu groups claim was a “love jihad” attempt.

In the days that followed, protests by such groups have raised tensions and have forced 40 of 45 Muslim businessmen and residents to leave the town following threats.

On the afternoon of May 26, the man’s niece sought directions from Ubed Khan, 24, and Jitendra Saini, 23, when they allegedly attempted to bundle her into an auto-rickshaw. “They took the girl away from the main market area near a petrol pump and called an auto-rikshaw to the spot. Locals saw the girl being made to sit in the rickshaw and raised the alarm. The accused then fled from the spot,” Purola police station in-charge Khajan Chauhan said.

A case was registered on the same day at the Purola police station under sections 363 (kidnapping), 366A (procuration of minor girl) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the POCSO Act, and the next day both men were arrested.

But what followed took a communal turn when on May 29, right wing groups held a protest march in the narrow bylanes of the hill town raising slogans against the “love jihad”- a term used by right-wing groups to describe an alleged conspiracy by Muslim men to woo and seduce Hindu women. “Love jihad” is a phrase that neither the courts nor the Union government recognise.

On the same day, at least 30 shops owned or rented by Muslims were ransacked and attacked. Four days later, on June 3, there was another procession, and at least 25 more shops were attacked in the Barkot locality, some ominously marked with the letter X.

Posters began to appear across Purola asking Muslim traders to leave before a proposed Hindu mahapanchayat, which was later disallowed by the district administration, on June 15. A case was registered on June 5 under sections 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) but there have been no arrests.

The victim’s uncle said he has been approached by several right-wing groups, but he is firm on not joining the agitation, which is being by the Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. “I have turned them down every time. Their attempts to reach me have made my life hell. I can’t even go out. I understand all they want to do is to create communal tension and their only aim is raising slogans. I have stopped responding to calls from unknown numbers and have even bought a new number,” he said.

These remarks are a reminder that religious hate is often politically engineered, and that people usually prefer to coexist with other communities, as they have for centuries in one of the world’s most diverse countries that is India. The state government and the law enforcement have much to answer for the communal polarisation that has taken place in Purola and other parts of Uttarakhand.

A Bajrang Dal office-bearer said it was clear case of “love jihad”.

“The accused [Ubed Khan] had posed as a Hindu and even had a social media profile under a Hindu name. The complaint by victim’s uncle is a testament. Our motive is just to save our daughters. If love jihad is not real, what happened in Arakot, Gauchar and other parts of Uttarakhand?” Vikas Verma, a member of Bajrang Dal said. “It’s a clear cut love jihad case.”

The 40 year old, who lives with his niece and his wife and two children, said that on May 26, he received a phone call from Ashish Chumar who said that two men were trying to take his niece away from the Naugaon petrol pump.

They had then fled when they were accosted by Chumar. On Saturday, the 40-year-old said that the law had taken its course, but now believed that if the accused had apologised, he may not even have filed a complaint.

“We now keep her (girl) inside the house. It has left a psychological scar on her. She is good academically, but now remains concern all the time about her future,” the girl’s uncle said.

While grateful to the police for the prompt arrest of the two men, the man said he was unhappy that this case has been “used” to call for Muslims to leave.

“I wanted to extend my support for Muslims but was afraid that it wouldn’t be taken positively in this atmosphere. Every time I open Facebook, most news-related videos say this was a case of love jihad. It makes me depressed. Nobody asks me what the real story is,” he said.

Over the past two weeks, over 40 of the 45 Muslim families among Purola’s 8,000 residents have either left for Dehradun or Uttar Pradesh to weather the storm. “Those who left should have never gone. I want them back. The whole community shouldn’t be targeted for the offence of one,” he said.