Hindus in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh, staged a sizable anti-muslim rallies on Thursday, June 23, 2023. Hindu activists from different organizations took to the streets to protest and give jihadis a notice to leave the state in 30 days.
Office-holders from the Bajrang Dal, VHP, Hindu Jagran Manch, Brahmin Pratinidhi Sabha, Sippy Kalyan Sabha, Valmiki Sabha, and Vyapar Mandal Chamba took part in the rally under the banner of the Sanghani Massacre Sangharsh Samiti.
They demanded the creation of a fast-track court to hear the murder case of Manohar Lal and the imposition of the death penalty on the perpetrators. Slogans criticizing the police and administration were shouted by the enraged mob.
The police and the leader of the Rashtriya Devbhoomi Party fought over the dismantling of barricades that had been erected close to Chauhra Dam.
The two parties also engaged in discussion. However, the police did not let them proceed any further, citing Section 144.
The irate activists hurled insults at the police personnel and district administration. The campaigners insisted on traveling to Sanghani and stayed in Chauhara till five o’clock in the evening.
One among the protestors could be seen speaking to the audience in a video that quickly became popular on social media. “I have come here today, in this historic protest, to appeal to all the Hindus in Himachal Pradesh,” he declared.
“We issue a 30-day ultimatum to the jihadi-minded individuals who are active in Himachal Pradesh“.
“If you don’t, you will be the only one accountable for what follows. The Hindu community will assume control of the campaign“.
Venomous slogans were raised in the rally against the Muslims, clearly outlining hate speech against the community. They want a social boycott of Muslim community.
Demonstrators have filed a memorandum, according to Deputy Commissioner Apoorva Devgn of Samba.
He has received it and plans to send it to the Governor of Himachal Pradesh. He stated that the demonstrators were requesting documentation from the federal agencies and made it clear that the Governor of Himachal Pradesh will be given this request for review.
Manohar Lal, a Hindu teenager, disappeared on June 6 as he made his way home from his mountaintop cowshed.
He allegedly went on to meet his Muslim girl lover. He is said to have been beaten with sticks by the girl’s family, who then dismembered and dumped his body down a gutter after he passed away.
On June 9, four members of the Indian Reserve Battalion who were on patrol in the area came across the body. According to some media sources, residents spotted the chopped body and called the police before it was discovered in a sack.
The police report that a total of five people have been detained in connection with the case. Three of the defendants are adults, while two are young female defendants. The communal component of the case was clearly refuted by Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Vinod Kumar Dhiman in a statement to OpIndia.
Manohar’s involvement with the accused’s sister was discovered during the preliminary investigation, he claimed. “Despite the fact that the accused are Muslims and the victim was a Hindu, there was no bias in this case.
The accused and the victim were having an affair. Five people—two girls under the age of 18 and three adults—have been detained.
Prima facie, there is no evidence of the communal angle in the murder,” said ASP Dhiman.
When will the state take notice of such volatile demonstrations accompanied with hate speech, and derogatory slogans targeting the Muslim community?
Can we anticipate an appropriate action against these demonstrators? Will the state even respond to it?
