Tension rises in Purola over Hindu mahapanchayat, section 144 imposed

The Uttarakhand high court will on Thursday hear a plea to prevent Hindu outfits from holding a mahapanchayat against "love jihad" in Purola town, where the local administration has imposed prohibitory orders to prevent the gathering from taking place.

The Association for the Protection of Civil Rights moved the court on Wednesday after the Supreme Court earlier in the day refused to entertain its plea against the mahapanchayat, but allowed the petitioner to approach the HC or any other authority.

In protest against the imposition of section 144, which bars assembly of people, local trade bodies called for a bandh in Uttarkashi district, in which Purola falls, on Thursday.

The administration has not given permission for the mahapanchayat. 

Communal tension has been brewing in Purola and some other towns of Uttarkashi district after two men, one of them Muslim, allegedly tried to abduct a Hindu girl on May 26.  The girl was rescued and the accused sent to judicial custody.

Local trade bodies and right wing Hindu outfits have run a sustained campaign against what they call were cases of "love jihad" in Purola and neighbouring towns, including Barkot, Chinyalisaur and Bhatwari.

In the Supreme Court, a vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah earlier in the day asked advocate Shahrukh Alam, who appeared for the NGO, to avail remedy available in law and granted her liberty to approach the high court or any other authority concerned.

The NGO's plea sought to prevent the mahapanchayat and registration of an FIR against hate speeches allegedly targeting members of a particular community.

"We are not short circuiting the legal process. There is a high court and district administration, you can approach them. Maintaining law and order is the responsibility of the state government, why do you think no action will be taken if matter is brought to its notice. You should have faith in the high court," the bench said. 

In its order, the bench recorded that Alam sought to withdraw the writ petition to enable the NGO to approach the high court or any other authority. "Permission granted. The writ petition is dismissed as withdrawn with liberty as prayed for," the bench said.

Alam told the court that posters and letters have surfaced asking members of a particular community to leave Uttarkashi and no action has been taken despite their being a continuing mandamus in the matter of hate speeches that the police have to register an FIR suo motu.

"The material suggests that FIR needs to be registered under UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). A mahapanchayat is scheduled to be held on June 15 and they have given an ultimatum to district administration to remove members of a particular community by June 15," Alam said.

Purola sub-divisional magistrate Devanand Sharma said prohibitory orders banning the assembly of four or more people under Section 144 will remain in force till June 19.

Bajrang Dal president Anuj Walia said steps being taken to prevent the mahapanchayat are part of a big conspiracy against Hindus.

"The mahapanchayat was to be held peacefully. The administration is protecting jihadis," Walia said, demanding the removal of Uttarkashi district magistrate Abhishek Rohilla and superintendent of police Arpan Yaduvanshi.

"The administration is acting under the pressure of AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi," he alleged.

Section 144 will not deter Hindu organisations from going ahead with the mahapanchayat which can be held anytime after June 19, he said.

Among other right wing Hindu outfits that called for the mahapanchayat include the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan.

"Love jihad" is a term often used by right wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into marriages for religious conversion.

Apart from the abduction bid reported from Purola on May 26, another failed abduction attempt of two minor sisters of Nepali origin by a man called Nawab was reported on June 8 from Arakot area of Uttarkashi district.

The accused in both cases were booked under section 363 (abduction) of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

Over 40 shops run by Muslims in Purola have not opened even a fortnight after the abduction attempt.

Posters asking alleged perpetrators of "love jihad" to leave the town or face consequences appeared on these shops last week.

Muslim Seva Sangathan, an organisation fighting for the rights of Muslims, has also given a call for a mahapanchayat in Dehradun on June 18.

Muslim bodies like the Uttarakhand Waqf Board and state Haj committee have appealed to the chief minister to take stringent action against "anti-social" elements trying to derail peace in the hills and protect Muslims who have been living in Purola for generations.