Islamists have tried to stop the renovation of the temple located in Ranipur village of Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh. Local extremists including Nihal, Anees Khan, Asghar Khan, Shoaib, Salim, Yunus, Achhe and Rais among others alleged that the renovation of the temple will cause hindrances in the time of namaz in the mosque, as it is located only 100 meters away. The area comes under the Nibai outpost of Bighapur police station.
Only 25 to 30 Hindu families reside in the predominantly Muslim village of Ranipur, which is home to around 125 Muslim households. The Hindu community has a Shiva temple that dates back more than 70 years. They perform their religious functions like mundan, chhedan and marriage on the platform of this temple. The platform has walls and pillars but lacks a roof because the Muslim radicals are opposed to it. They argue that a mosque exists at a distance of 100 metres and any construction work will disrupt the prayers there.
The conflict reached the Bighapur police station from the police post on 7th-8th October and the authorities immediately issued an official warning to 26 Muslims and 6 Hindus against any activities threatening law and order in the area to calm down the situation. However, the matter further escalated and on 20th October started making the rounds on social media. The local Dainik Jagran newspaper also published a report on this on 21st October, which also featured a comment from Rishikant Shukla, Circle Officer (CO) of the police station. He stated that authorisation has to be taken from the administration before building a religious place. The villagers (Hindus) have been asked to get permission and only then the construction work can be initiated. The report of this entire matter has been sent to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM).
Furthermore, the CO even gave a statement claiming that official action is underway. A local police officer, who is currently the Station House Officer (SHO) of the police station, should be aware of this matter since an official warning has been put out. However, when OpIndia called SHO Rajpal, he categorically denied the conflict, but, then began providing clarification after he was informed about the CO’s remark citing media reports about the issue.
The official, who has up to now maintained that there is no controversy was seen avoiding the subject. Rajpal claimed, “There is no dispute. This matter is of 7th-8th October. People from both sides have been officially warned.” He defended, “It was to prevent the matter from escalating,” when asked why the cops gave a warning in the absence of any contention. However, it was obvious that there was indeed an issue. He could be trying to ensure that the matter does not get raised in the media. Moreover, the Unnao police were even a few steps behind and its social media handle questioned, “Which police station is it,” when a netizen sought information about the case.
A young man named Aviral took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote, “Shocking news from Uttar Pradesh. 90% of the population is Muslim and they won’t allow the temple to be built. Muslim mob stopped Hindus from building a temple in a Muslim-dominated village. Radical Muslims are behaving arbitrarily in the Ranipur village of Unnao. What is the truth of the matter?” He also tagged the official handles of Unnao Police and Uttar Pradesh Police to which the former replied, “Please, tell us the police station area.”
कृपया, थाना क्षेत्र अवगत कराएँ।
— UNNAO POLICE (@unnaopolice) October 20, 2024
This response was a blatant admission of police inaction and ignorance of the problem. The cops are trying to deflect attention from the issue that Aviral brought out. The police administration did not treat this matter seriously, although it involved the oppression and violation of the religious rights of the Hindu community. It is obvious that the Islamic zealots have been in control of the hamlet for a long time, and the authorities have given up rather than attempting to control them. The renovation of the temple is being delayed by the issue of administrative permission.
When this authorization will be granted is still up in the air, but Unnao police are making a very noticeable effort to avoid acknowledging the matter as contentious. The authorities would have acted straight away if this had anything to do with the mosque, but in this instance, the infringement of the religious rights of Hindus has not been considered critical. It seems as if the police administration has surrendered before the Muslim extremists.
