The Bharatiya Colony in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, remained tense on Tuesday after a Muslim man bought a house in the area. Right-wing groups have allegedly issued warnings, stating that under no circumstances would Muslim families be allowed to live in the predominantly Hindu locality, according to a report by The Hindu.
Tensions escalated in the area after several Hindu organisations claimed that dozens of people offered namaz in public and alleged that an organisation named Awam-e-Hind was operating from the house. Amid the growing uproar, the house owner is reportedly considering selling the property.
Nadeem had bought the house through an open auction held by a bank. However, several organisations have since argued that there is “no need for Muslim residents in the Hindu locality,” and alleged that plans were underway to establish a madrasa on the premises. These groups held a protest, demanding the eviction of the family from the area.
The Muzaffarnagar police confirmed that they are investigating the matter and have deployed security personnel to maintain peace and order in the locality.
Rupali Rao, Deputy Superintendent of Police at Nai Mandi, Muzaffarnagar, told The Hindu, “An investigation is going on. There were allegations of people offering prayers in public without permission, etc. We are conducting a probe and monitoring the situation. Currently, there are no law and order issues in the area.”
A similar case occurred in June in Vadodara, Gujarat, where residents of a housing society protested the allocation of a house to a Muslim woman, calling for its cancellation. The woman, a government employee, was facing discrimination from the residents, who argued that the housing society was predominantly Hindu.
According to The Indian Express, back in 2017, a Muslim woman employed by the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Skill Development was allotted a house in the Motnath Residency Cooperative Housing Society Limited, situated in Harni district, which was part of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation’s low-income housing complex under the Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana.
Before the woman and her son could move in, 33 residents submitted a letter to the District Collector and other authorities, demanding the cancellation of her allotted unit (K204) within the 462-unit complex. They argued, “We believe the Harni area is a Hindu-dominated peaceful neighbourhood with no Muslim settlements in the vicinity for about four kilometres. Allowing her to live here is like setting fire to the peaceful lives of 461 families.”
