DM Monitoring
Jaipur: After three FIRs were registered on February 16, the police in Vijay Nagar, a town in Rajasthan’s Beawar district, arrested and detained a group of Muslim men – seven adults and three minors – for allegedly sexually assaulting and blackmailing five minor girls from the Hindu community over a period of time.
The incident led to protests by Hindutva groups, who demanded “bulldozer action” against the accused and also termed the incident as “love jihad”.
Right-wing groups often use the bogey of ‘love jihad’ while referring to interfaith romantic relationships between Muslim men and Hindu women. The term has been invented by Hindutva groups to accuse Muslim men of entrapping Hindu women on the pretext of love.
Three days after the arrests, the Vijay Nagar municipality began issuing notices to the families of the 10 accused. The notices issued over February 20 and 21 asked the families to submit proof of ownership of the houses where they resided.
If the documents are not presented, the municipality will conduct the action of removing illegal constructions/encroachments, and all the expenses would be realised from the families of the accused, said the notices.
On February 20, a notice was also issued to the administration of the Jama Masjid in Rajnagar area of the town, asking it to provide documents pertaining to proof of ownership of the mosque within a period of three days.
“Otherwise, after the stipulated time period, action will be taken under the Rajasthan Municipalities Act, 2009, for which you yourself will be responsible,” says the notice issued to the mosque written in Hindi.
Activists have slammed the municipality’s actions and have said that any imminent act of demolition will be a violation of Supreme Court’s guidelines on demolitions.
According to the police, the accused and the victims connected through social media, later exchanged numbers and subsequently some of the girls were sexually assaulted and blackmailed.
“We have arrested seven people while three minor accused have been detained. All the accused are between 19-21 years of age. Three FIRs have been registered by the five victims. The incident came to light when the family members of one of the girls saw her talking on a mobile phone and after questioning her, they got to know about the incident,” said deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Sajjan Singh.
Singh added that the FIRs have been registered under relevant sections of the POCSO Act and the BNS.
The police had registered the FIRs in the case on February 16, while the arrests were made a day later on February 17, said Karan Singh, the SHO of the Vijay Nagar police station where the FIRs have been registered. All the accused and arrested persons belong to the Muslim community.
Following the arrest of the accused, Hindutva groups gave a call for a bandh and held a massive demonstration in Vijay Nagar on February 21.
“They have conspired against our Hindu girls, engaged in love jihad. It is a big racket and all the accused must be arrested. The entire Hindu community demands that bulldozers raze their houses, illegal properties should be seized and everyone arrested,” one of the protesters told reporters during the protest.
The ABVP, the student wing of the RSS, too held protests in Ajmer, demanding action against the accused.
When asked about the allegation that the victims were also asked to convert by the accused, DSP Sajjan Singh said that investigation is being conducted on this aspect.
