About ten Muslim families have decided to migrate from their native Lisari village in Meerut in view of the communal unrest in the area. The families have put up posters on their houses citing the behind their decision.
“I am a Muslim. I am selling my home. Trivial matters are given a communal twist here,” read the posters in Hindi.
All the posters, which appear to have been digitally printed, have the same message.
The villagers of Lisari, which is located on the southern outskirts the city, allege that the communal harmony in the place has been affected because the police is working under the pressure of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.
The decision to sell off their properties was taken after an incident in which some Muslim residents had an alleged brawl with a Hindu shopkeeper of the locality.
On 21 June, a shopkeeper identified as Jony had a fight with some villagers. Jony then lodged a case against Chand, Gandhi, Sarfaraj, Shami, Idrish, Sameer and others.
The police on 27 June arrested two of the accused. This irked the villagers who blamed the police of taking one-sided action under influence of the BJP leaders. They claim that the police came under pressure from BJP leaders and did not register a counter-FIR in the case.
“Police registered a case against members of one community under pressure from a political party and refused to lodge an FIR of the other side”, alleged Samajwadi Party leader and MLA Rafeeq Ansari.
Accusing the police of partisanship, Rafeeq said that they should have at least registered an FIR. “They had an option to expunge it after investigation,” he said.
BSP leader and resident of Lisari village Hazi Noor Saifi said that people of both communities have lived here peacefully but “some people” are trying to disturb the communal harmony of the area. He demanded that the police should ensure fair investigation so that there is no migration from here.
Meanwhile, Dinesh Shukla, the Circle officer of Kotwali area, told The Statesman that the villagers should have come to them with their complaint before putting up the posters.
A meeting of the villagers has been convened to resolve the issue.