In yet another shocking incident, a lone Hindu family in a Muslim-dominated area faces threats to convert to Islam. Cases like this were common for countries like Pakistan but the current incident has come to light in the Basti district of Uttar Pradesh. The police teams are investigating the matter.
As per the complaint letter, the victim woman, a Hindu is a native of Basti Janpad and has been harassed by the local Islamists to convert. The threats included chopping her into pieces and grinding them, in case she refused to adhere to the demands.
As per the complaint letter, on March 26, the victim woman had come out of her house around 7 pm. It was then, around 30–35 Islamists living in the locality surrounded her and began harassing her.
They said, “There is only one Hindu house here. You should also convert to Islam. Otherwise, we will chop you into pieces and grind you; your dead body will never be found. Convert to Islam now, or else, you will not be allowed to live in this locality. We will only permit Hindus to reside here if they accept Islam.”
When the woman retaliated, they started molesting her and hurled abuses at her. The frightened victim rushed home, but the assailants chased her and started hurling stones at her home while shouting Islamic war-cries.
The victim stated that the accused could do anything to her and her family members and hence demanded action against the culprits.
Read this horror story below.
Basti, UP: When a Hindu woman was going to buy vegetables, around 30-35 Islamists allegedly surrounded her, began to molest her, and gave death threats if she refused to convert to Islam. The frightened victim rushed home, but the assailants chased… pic.twitter.com/BFathzDlfa
— Treeni (@_treeni) March 27, 2024
Responding to this the Basti Police said on social media platform X, ‘Taking cognizance of the matter, the police is investigating it”.
Organiser called the victim on March 28, the victim stated that she had withdrawn the complaint against the accused side, as this is a matter of her neighbourhood and she does not want any police case in this. The victim cut the phone in a rush when asked about the complaint letter as she was terrorised.
There have been a spate of such cases over the past few years. In a similar incident reported in December 2022, A Hindu family residing in the predominantly Muslim area of Balrampur, Uttar Pradesh, faced coercion to change their faith.
According to the complaint filed by the victim, Deepa Nishad, her family endured pressure to convert religions, purportedly due to the prevalence of a Muslim-majority populace in the vicinity. They were demanded to sell their residence and depart if they declined to comply, accompanied by alleged threats of fatal consequences.
According to the FIR, complainant Deepa alleged that “neighbouring Muslim women spit on the temple built in her house and said that now your temple has become impure. Now you have become a Muslim.”
A similar incident was reported in February this year from the Darbhanga district of Bihar. As per the reports, the only Hindu family in a Muslim-dominated village was harassed in various ways to convert. The victim made these allegations against Mohammad Guddu and his five brothers including Mohammad Laddu.
In the application given to the District Magistrate, the victim alleged that the entire village area where her family lives belongs to Muslims. Hers is the only Hindu family in the village and hence threatened and abused.
The Bihar police however in this case denied any communal angle. The police issued a statement saying that it is a land dispute between the parties without any communal angle.
