On 7th July 2022, in the evening, a dispute between two Muslim groups erupted in Pilibhit of Uttar Pradesh. The problem started with a minor argument which suddenly escalated to abuse, physical assault, and even firing. Deobandi Muslims and Barelvi Muslims fought with each other over the Shahji Miyan dargah.
According to locals, the Barelvi Muslims believe in all the dargahs including the Shahji Miyan dargah while the Deobandi Muslims don’t believe in anyone except Allah. The argument between the two groups started because one Deobandi Muslim allegedly passed a comment against another Barelvi Muslim asking why he worships the Shahji dargah.
Shah Rukh, a resident of Mohalla Sher Mohammad, was standing at the shop in the locality when Khalid of the same Mohalla came and started making derogatory remarks about the dargah of Shahji Miyan, a Muslim religious place in Pilibhit. When Shah Rukh and his associate Arbaz protested, they were brutally beaten up by Khalid and his 7 to 8 miscreant aides.
People in the Mohalla somehow intervened and controlled the dispute. Haseeb was one of the people trying to calm down the situation. During this, Khalid had an argument with Haseeb over the same issue. This scuffle was also calmed as people intervened again. But, after some time, Khalid reached Haseeb’s house with around a dozen goons and started abusing Haseeb aloud. Khalid and his aides also tried to break the door of Haseeb’s house. Somebody even fired during this ruckus. Fortunately, nobody was injured by this firing. Khalid also threatened Haseeb saying that he has a lot of money and power and therefore nobody can harm him.
As the news spread, the police officers and other staff in the Sadar Kotwali police station reached the spot. Heavy police force was deployed in that area. The police are searching for the accused miscreants. The victim Haseeb has filed a complaint at the police station. Sunil Dutt, CO of Pilibhit city, said, “Two groups indulged in a fight over a religious place. There was a physical assault and scuffle between them, followed by a firing incident in which nobody was harmed. An FIR will be registered in this case and the accused will be arrested soon.”
