Minority panel slaps notice on Agra DM, SSP; seeks action against Bajrang Dal

The Commission’s notice claims that the activists of Bajrang Dal had distributed pamphlets among college-going girl students in Agra a couple of days ago. These pamphlets, according to the notice, contained messages of “warning to the Hindu girls not to fall in the trap of ‘love jihad’”. This amounts to a hate campaign, the Commission points out, as it targets the Muslim community solely on a pre-conceived notion that “Muslim youths trap Hindu girls in relationships”.

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The Commission has named Ajju Chauhan as the person behind the campaign. Chauhan, the state convener of Bajrang Dal, was also named by the Commission as the man behind the “ghar wapsi” campaign held in December last year.

“We have issued the notice today. The matter is serious as in the past, too, Agra had been the epicentre of the religious conversion row. Administration should have been on alert. Still, a particular community is being targeted and communal hatred is being spread,” State Minorities Commission chairman Shakeel Ahmed Khan said.

Shafi Azmi, a member of the Commission, said: “Agra has become hypersensitive. Last year, we had visited the city after there were reports that Muslims were being forcibly converted. Things should be nipped in the bud as these elements have carried out a failed attempt to spoil the communal harmony in the region. Once the district administration replies to the notice, the Commission will take a call on further action. We may visit the city again.”

In December last year, reports had emerged that several Muslim families in Agra had converted to Hinduism. The conversion was reportedly part of the “ghar wapsi” programme launched by Dharma Jagran Manch, a unit of the RSS. Later, a four-member team of the Commission had visited Agra and submitted a report, rejecting claims of conversion. It had also recommended action against the officials of Local Intelligence Unit for failing in their duty.