Hindutva extremists Chhattisgarh call boycott of Muslim businesses: Police on Friday ordered a probe after a video of residents of a village in Surguja district boycotting Muslim vendors and taking an oath to end business dealings with Muslims went viral on social media.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the police said that they are looking for people who had gone to the village and gathered residents to take the pledge. Surguja Collector Sanjeev Jha said that an additional superintendent of police and sub-divisional magistrate visited the village on Thursday and spoke to the residents.
He said the video surfaced a few days after a communal clash took place in the area this week and accused from both sides have been booked. “It started out as a normal New Year celebration at the local level. Some people are giving communal color to the incident. It will not be allowed,” he said.
The police reached the spot and registered a case against the villagers under relevant sections. The next day, six people from Arrah were arrested and sent to jail but were later granted bail the same day. This angered the villagers of Kundi Kala.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Vivek Shukla said that on January 1, villagers of Ara village of Balrampur district visited Kundi Kala village.
Police said a group of outsiders later instigated the villagers. “Taking advantage of the tense situation between two communities, outsiders raised slogans against a particular community. As soon as we received the complaint, senior officials and I reached the village and explained that some people are trying to give a communal color to the issue and the villagers should not be misled.”
There is a government of Bhupesh Baghel in Chhattisgarh who talks of religious harmony, but when such an incident happens in his own state, then a question mark definitely arises. Now it remains to be seen where the police investigation reaches.