In an Anganwadi near Vadodara’s Soma Talav, three bags full of literature and books about Islam were found. Subsequently, the police was informed and Vadodara City Police has reportedly initiated a probe.
On September 4, Snehal Patel, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Vadodara, found books on Islam stashed in Anganwadi. After that, Bajrang Dal approached the police and filed a complaint. Wadi Police station officials visited the Anganwadi and found that it was closed for over a year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In its initial investigation, the police found that the books allegedly belong to the supervisor of the Anganwadi, who is a Muslim woman.
The Anganwadi is located close to the sheltered families from Sulemani chawl. In 2016, the Chawl was demolished by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC). According to TG Bamaniya, inspector of Wadi police station, the majority of the students in the Anganwadi are Muslims, but some of the children are Hindu.
He said, “We received a complaint from local leaders that books on Islam were stashed inside the Anganwadi. The leaders expressed their apprehension that Hindu children were being made to read the books on Islamic teachings. When we questioned the supervisor, we learnt that the books were kept in the Anganwadi as she had been moving homes… it was her personal collection. The Anganwadi has been closed for over a year.”
He further added that the police is taking statements of the parents of Hindu children to see if they were forced to read the books on Islam. OpIndia approached Wadi Police Station and was informed that based on the complaint by the locals, the police had initiated a probe in the matter. As of now, no FIR has been registered in the case.
