The Paschim (West) Sarira police station in Kaushambi district, Uttar Pradesh, has been in the headlines for quite some time. The reason is the discussion on social media about the village of Jafarpur Mahawa. It is being claimed that the Muslim community has imposed a social boycott on the Hindu community. Some media outlets have also published similar reports. However, the police are denying these claims.
Meanwhile, Hindu organisations have expressed dissatisfaction with the response of the local administration and have protested at the police station. OpIndia has investigated all aspects of this news.
The root lies in land dispute
There is a land dispute at the root of this entire matter. In the village, there is a temple next to Chhotelal Gupta’s house. This temple is adjacent to a piece of land that used to belong to a Hindu. A Muslim villager bought this land. It is alleged that the buyer now wants to open a door facing the temple. Despite his house facing the other side, the Muslim neighbour insists on opening the door towards the temple, claiming ‘my land, my right.’ The Hindu community believes that if this happens, there will be frequent communal tensions in the future, as the temple could be defiled by the practices of the Muslim family.
The Hindu side levels serious allegations
Villagers Chhotelal Gupta, Mahesh, and Virendra Diwakar have made statements regarding this issue. In unison, they all said that moving beyond the legal battle over the land dispute, the Muslim side has now resorted to a social boycott. It is alleged that the Muslim community in the village held a meeting and unanimously decided that there would be no transactions of any kind with Hindu households. OpIndia has also obtained a letter addressed to the local Deputy SP. The letter is signed by Chhotelal, Mahesh, Rajesh Kumar, Rupendra Kumar Sharma, Dhirendra Singh, and Jagdish Kumar.
In this letter, the village Pradhan Naseer Ahmed, Abrar’s son Guddu, Akram, Naushad, and Wahab have been identified as the masterminds behind the boycott of Hindus. It is alleged that the boycott includes prohibiting the purchase of goods from Hindu shops, conversing with them, and preventing them from accessing water for their fields. Muslims who do not comply with this decree face a fine of Rs 5,000 and the threat of being ostracised from the community. The complaint mentions that there is an atmosphere of fear among the Hindus in the village. The names Vaijnath and Rajesh are mentioned as those affected by the lack of water for irrigation. The complaint is signed by the entire Hindu community.
Village Pradhan partially accepted the allegations
OpIndia has obtained a video byte of the village Pradhan Nassen alias Naseer Ahmed, regarding this entire dispute. He initially spoke many things like Hindu-Muslim unity. In the land dispute, he supported Muslim buyer, asserting that the construction is legitimate. He denied any claims of social ostracism. In the end, he admitted that strict actions had been taken against some individuals who were talking about the Hindu-Muslim divide.
Police refute all allegations
On Monday (10th June), the Kaushambi Police released their statement on this entire matter. According to the police, claims about issuing a fatwa for social ostracism in the village are baseless and misleading. The police also clarified that the issue of not providing water for irrigation was not a collective action but involved only one person. Fakire had asked for the old dues to be settled before providing water. Claiming peace among the villagers, the police stated that some outsiders were trying to disrupt the environment and had been issued strict warnings.
Kaushambi, UP 📍
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) June 10, 2024
🚨Masjid has given open fatwa
– Muslims must boycott Hindu businesses
– Muslims must shut down water supply to Hindu homes
– Muslims must not allow Hindus to use water from their tube wells & private resources
Shocking ‼️@Uppolice pic.twitter.com/DFmZpNMsWm
Hindu organisations dissatisfied with the administration’s actions
Meanwhile, several Hindu organisations have expressed dissatisfaction with the administrative actions. Members associated with Hindu organisations alleged injustice against Hindus in the village. They staged a protest at the Paschim (West) Sarira Police Station on Sunday (9th June). During the protest, it was alleged that the police were threatening the Hindu side. Additionally, the revenue officials were accused of making unilateral decisions. It was announced during the protest that the complaint regarding the incident would be directly addressed to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Notably, the village has approximately equal populations of Muslims and Hindus. Hindu organisations have announced that they will not let any injustice happen to the Hindus in the village. Currently, there is peace in the village. The administration is continuously monitoring the situation. Social media is also being monitored regarding this matter.
