Uttarakhand: Hindu outfit 'threatens' shop owners in Rudrapur
Dehradun, May 14 -- A few videos showing members of right-wing organisation Bajrang Dal purportedly threatening Muslim shopkeepers in Rudrapur to display their names in front of their shops to reveal their religious identity have gone viral on social media.
The members of Bajrang Dal on May 3 and 4 allegedly carried out a campaign in Rudrapur to ask Muslim shopkeepers to display their religious identity on their storefronts to "allow customers to know identity of shopkeepers", people aware of the matter said on Tuesday.
"You need to remove the entire board... write your name... not in small letters, write it big," members of the Bajrang Dal can be purportedly heard saying to a shoe shop owner in the viral video. However, superintendent of police Rudrapur Uttam Singh Negi said, "No such matter has come to our notice and neither has any person come forward to file a complaint. If any complaint comes, we will take required action."
Speaking to a local news outlet, a Bajrang Dal member said, "We are only approaching those who haven't written their names on their display boards. We want them to mention their names clearly... we should know where we are buying from... and where we are not buying from."
Another member added, "We are not trying to challenge anyone... we just want to know who the new tenant in our neighbourhood is... what religion they belong to, what background they come from, what their record is, whether their credentials have been verified or not. For a long time, we have observed incidents like spitting or urinating in food items. We want to ensure that the goods people purchase, especially those we offer to our deities... are completely pure and uncontaminated."
Yashpal Arya, an Udham Singh Nagar-based leader of Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) whose youth wing is Bajrang Dal, said they didn't threaten anyone but wanted the Muslim shopkeepers to display their religious identity....
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