Hate Watch: Bajrang Dal men barge into Hindu woman’s birthday party; detain her Muslim friends

As many incidents of “love jihad” policing in the past have taken place in public spheres, like at bus stops, open garden spaces, by halting bikes, buses and so on, the right wing group, Bajrang Dal has started barging into people’s homes now! Reportedly, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, the largest city in the state, a group of men belonging to the Bajrang Dal, stormed into a birthday celebration in a house and allegedly thrashed some Muslim men.

A 24-year-old Hindu woman was celebrating her birthday with her friends when a mob, allegedly comprised of Bajrang Dal men barged into the house and started assaulting the Muslim men on allegations of “Love Jihad”. These men were even taken to MIG Colony police station where they were put in jail, reported The Quint. This incident took place on January 21 and the video went viral the next day.

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In the video the men from the mob can be heard abusing the men while the woman is seen hiding her face in exasperation. In the later part of the video, a man can be seen asking one of the men to sit down, while he himself sits on the bed and asks him some questions and then starts thrashing him.  Then the unruly mob can be seen escorting the (presumably) Muslim men out of the room and thereafter they were probably taken to the police station.

Forced to file conversion complaint

While raising slogans in praise of Bajrang Dal, the mob riding on bikes took the men to the police station and are known to have pressurized the woman (whose birthday party it was) to lodge case of forceful conversion or “love jihad” but she did not relent and insisted that they were only celebrating her birthday. She refused to file any complaint against her friends.

The publication spoke to the MIG police station in charge, Ajay Verma who said that to avoid further dispute they had charged the men under section 151 [Knowingly joining or continuing in assembly of five or more persons after it has been commanded to disperse] of the IPC and said that the men will be released by Sunday (January 22). However, when Sabrang India spoke to Verma today he said that the men will be taken before the ACP today and are still in police custody. When inquired why they were not presented before a Magistrate in a bailable offence, he said that they were under preventive detention to avoid any “breach of peace”.

The Bajrang Dal claimed that they were conducting a search of the apartment after receiving information that 5 Muslim men and 2 Hindu women were in the flat. They claim that they found intoxicating substances, including liquor bottles and hence they brought them to the police station.

No action against Bajrang Dal

Surprisingly though the charges under which they have been booked and put in police custody, do not relate to finding of any intoxicating substance. Furthermore, the fact that a threatening mob entered a house, a residential premises without permission of the occupant, is a clear offence of criminal trespass (among others) and yet, the police took no action in this regard and the members of the unruly mob are roaming scot free, at liberty to commit more of such offences.

Image Courtesy: siasat.com

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