Masihuzzama Ansari | India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—The Muslims of Mavi Meera village under Daurala police station in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh are forced to flee due to alleged harassment by the local Hindu villagers. Dozens of Muslims have put ‘Makan Bikau Hai’ (House for Sale) posters on their houses.
Many Muslim families in the village, who have put up posters outside their homes and are planning to escape, spoke to India Tomorrow.
Shamshad of Mavi Meera village said, “Gujjars of the village keep harassing us on small matters. When the matter goes to the police station, instead of filing a report, they settle the matter through dialogue, but later start harassing us again. We are very upset. “
There are about 40 Muslim families in the village who have planned to flee and put (House for Sale) posters outside their houses.
Recently, a Gujjar youth from the village did some shopping worth Rs. 20 from a Muslim shopkeeper of the village. However, he did not pay. There was a fight between the two sides over it when the Muslim shopkeeper insisted for his money.
Shamshad alleged that “Gujjars broke into the house of the Muslim shopkeeper and opened fire. However, the administration has not shown any seriousness in the matter”.
Station House Officer (SHO) of Daurala police station Kiranpal Singh, when questioned about the incident, said, “There was a mild clash between the two parties over a cigarette which is being overblown. There is no truth behind Muslims fleeing the village.”
SHO said, “In the dispute, there was stone-throwing from both sides although no one was injured in the clash. It was a minor dispute. “
The Muslims of the village say that they have complained about this from the district to the state level but to no avail, so they have decided to flee the village.
Shamshad said, “There was a graveyard case in the village in 2013 which was resolved, but since then the Muslims of the village are often harassed using different excuses.”
He said, “There was a fight over a small purchase, after which the Gujjars broke into the victim’s house and opened fire. We have no hearing at the police station”.
Another villager Mohammad Sharif told India Tomorrow, “In Meerut, we tried to register our complaints with the police at three places. However, not a single case was registered in the police station. Every time the police refuse to file cases saying these kinds of petty incidents keep happening in the village. However, bullets have also been fired in the village by Gujjars”.
“We are fed up with the conflicts here. The administration does not listen to our complaints and the village does not have a conducive atmosphere, so we have decided to flee”, says Sharif.
