Recently, some media outlets, including ‘The Wire’, claimed that a poster has been pasted in Delhi’s Brahmpuri, in which Hindus have been asked not to sell their houses to Muslims. It was claimed that these posters have been pasted by advocate Pradeep Sharma. The poster has the address of street number 13 located in Brahmpuri written on it. However, when we went on the ground and investigated, we found something different altogether. Pradeep Sharma has denied putting up any such poster.
We found that the person whose name is seen in this poster, Advocate Pradeep Sharma, practices in Karkardooma Court. He categorically stated that he has no connection to the poster and that his name was being misused. The lawyer said that he neither knew anything about what was written on the poster nor had anything to do with it. He said that he does not suspect anyone at the moment, but he has submitted a complaint to the police against unknown people.
He, however, admitted that some Residents’ Welfare Associations (RWAs) are active here and don’t want the population of Muslims to increase in the area and want the migration of Hindus to stop. However, he also said that if such an appeal has to be made, then people should do it in their own name, and not in his name. Advocate Sharma also said that RWA should issue an appeal in its own name if it has to be done. He said that it is not right to get someone else trolled on social media in such a way.
Advocate Pradeep Sharma also reached Usmanpuri police station, with a memorandum of the complaint. He said that he has come to the police station to give his complaint, and to find out who has installed this poster, due to which he is being harassed and his family is being threatened. He said that ‘Muslim parties’ (home buyers) have backtracked after seeing this poster, due to which local Muslim leaders and property dealers are threatening him.
He also feared a threat to his family. The lawyer said that he himself came to know about this poster when he was threatened on social media after someone sent him a photo of the poster. He said that apart from the DCP, he has also given a complaint to the local police station. Regarding ‘The Wire’ news portal, he said that his first interview is coming in OpIndia and he has not even heard the name of ‘The Wire’.
Advocate Pradeep Sharma said, “I am unaware how my statement appeared in ‘The Wire’. I have no idea how ‘The Wire’ gave all the news against me. Whatever ‘The Wire’ has written, they are not my words. I didn’t give an interview. I got calls from some journalists, and I told them I had nothing to do with the poster. Someone has given money to a sold-out channel like ‘The Wire’ and published news against me.”
He further clarified that no one came from ‘The Wire’ to take his statement, but ‘The Wire’ accused him of spreading hatred and said that he is preventing Hindus from selling their houses to Muslims. Pradeep Sharma said that as an advocate, he considers it his duty to save his clients and has never differentiated between Hindu-Muslim as part of his professional life.
Pradeep Sharma has been living in Brahmpuri since birth, and his father bought this house in 1962. Advocate Sharma said that considering the safety of his family, he is planning to sell the house. He mentioned that when the riots took place in 2020, only a few houses belonged to Muslims, today there are many Muslim households in the area.
He said that Hindus are continuously migrating from the area and up to 10-15 Hindu families have migrated. He said that in February 2020, bullets were fired in front of his house and an attempt was made to break down the gate of his house.
Sharma further said that a mosque was built in the area 5-6 years ago, following which the population of Muslims started increasing. The lawyer said that the mosque was once the house of a Brahmin, which was made a mosque after being sold. He also said that outsider Muslims come in large numbers at the time of namaz and 500-700 people come there every Friday. Azaan for the namaz is also done through loudspeakers.
Pradeep Sharma has been trying to sell the house for the last 2-3 years and will sell it to whoever gives him the right amount, whether Hindu or Muslim. In fact, there is a temple in his house, due to which he is having trouble selling the house. He feared that this mischief may have been done because of that as Hindus are migrating, while Muslims refuse to buy a house with a temple.
Explaining his plan, he said that he is even ready to remove the temple from the house so that it can be sold. He said that 70% of the area is Hindu and 30% is Hindu. He said that Hindus protect Muslims and when Muslims left their homes, many Hindus protected them – there was no arson and no violence. He asserted that Hindus always show tolerance and they are never intolerant.
