In a distressing incident unfolding in Bihar’s Darbhanga district, a Hindu family residing in the Muslim-dominated village of Muria, within the Bhalpatti OP police station area, has come forward with allegations of continuous harassment. The family, comprising Rajdhan Devi and her relatives, claimed to be the solitary Hindu household in the village, surrounded by Muslim neighbors.
The situation escalated when Rajdhan Devi’s son, Vicky, took the matter to the District Magistrate, Rajeev Roshan, seeking intervention. In their plea submitted through Vicky, the family detailed a series of grievances, asserting that their Muslim neighbors, led by individuals identified as Mohammad Guddu and his five brothers, including Mohammad Laddu, had been subjecting them to relentless harassment.
According to the victim’s account reported by Dainik Bhaskar, the harassment included unwelcome intrusions into their residence and the hurling of objectionable items into their home by members of the Muslim community. Vicky specifically implicated the Guddu and Laddu families, alleging that they had been pressuring his family to either vacate their property or allegedly convert to Islam.
Expressing frustration with the lack of response from authorities, Vicky conveyed a sense of disillusionment, stating, “Now I feel that Hindus do not have the right to live under the Constitution.” He lamented that despite their persistent efforts over the past three years to seek redressal, they had been met with indifference.
Responding to the family’s plea, District Magistrate Rajeev Roshan assured action, directing the Sadar Sub-Divisional Officer to promptly investigate the matter and take necessary steps to address the allegations. The incident underscores broader concerns about religious harmony and minority rights in the region, prompting calls for swift and effective intervention from local authorities to safeguard the affected family’s rights and well-being.
Significantly, the report initially gained traction through coverage by OpIndia, subsequent to an article in the Hindi Daily Dainik Bhaskar. However, the so-called fact-checking website Alt News has discredited this report as fake, urging action against OpIndia and a social media activists, Mr Sinha and Megh Updates who shared it on platform X.
दरभंगा में जमीन विवाद के एक मामले को धर्म परिवर्तन से जुड़ा बताकर सांप्रदायिक रंग दे दिया गया है @OpIndia_in @UnSubtleDesi द्वारा।
हेलो @DarbhangaPolice @bihar_police 👋 https://t.co/vzKi9kkMZA pic.twitter.com/TV9gCnnHDh— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) February 5, 2024
Notably, the Bihar police have labelled the case as a land dispute rather than a forced religious conversion. Yet, it remains unproven whether alleged fact-checker Mohammad Zubair has provided any evidence to substantiate his claims against the reporting of both Dainik Bhaskar and OpIndia. We will continue to update this report with further information.
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