An elderly Hindu man from Mehrauli, a Muslim-dominated village in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh has filed a complaint against a few Muslim youths in the neighbourhood, accusing them of threatening him with severe repercussions if he does not accept Islam. He also alleged that the accused barged into his house and assaulted him. They ransacked his house and threatened him with life unless he converted to Islam.
In the complaint filed with the Kosi Kalan PS in Mathura on July 22, 2022, 60-year-old Tejram named Tahir, Tarif, Aashi, Amir, Idrish, Gunna, Amir, Amsar, Babbu, Shabbir and Sagan as the accused. The victim further alleged that the Kosi Kalan police and local officials were acting on the accused’s orders and that his plea was being ignored as a result of their clout and terror.
Tejram’s accusation prompted Mathura Police to take cognisance of the case. On August 31, 2022, the Mathura police instructed the Kosi Kalan station in charge to investigate the matter on an urgent basis and take appropriate and prompt action in the case.
Tejram stated in his police complaint, a copy of which is also with OpIndia, that he and a few other Hindus acquired government plots in the area 18 years ago. Tahir, Tarif, Aashi, Amir, Idrish, Gunna, Amir, Amsar, Babbu, Shabbir, and Sagan, all from the same hamlet, had entered their plots and cut down the trees a few days ago. Furthermore, they breached the boundary fencing of the field belonging to another Hindu man from the same village named Godharan and merged it into their own. Tejram had filed a complaint against these Muslim youths with the police and local authorities following both events. This enraged the accused, according to Tejram.
Tejram further alleged that the accused had political and religious animosity toward him. On the evening of July 23, 2022, the Muslim youths barged into his house and started abusing him. They threatened him by saying “you can achieve nothing by complaining to the police or the local authorities”. They then ransacked and vandalised his home. When Tejram resented they started brutally thrashing him up.
The complaint further stated that when people from the neighbourhood attempted to help Tejram, they were also assaulted. According to Tejram, the assailants said, “This is our village…if you want to stay here you’ll have to stay as per our whims. We Muslims make up 90% of the village population. If you irk us you will have to wash your hands off your life and property/land. Embrace our religion or leave this village.”
Speaking about the plight of Hindus in the village, Tejram said that he is not the first to face such intimidation. Previously, other Hindu residents of the village have also been threatened and harassed. But no one has ever dared to speak up as they are all afraid of the accused. Tejram further stated that the accused have weapons in their possession and also have links with local gangsters. He said that it is also believed that the Kosi Kalan police and revenue department employees are also under the accused’s control. Which is why his complaint also went unheard for all this while, said Tejram.
Tejram told OpIndia that when he was younger, the hamlet did not have a large Muslim population. In the years since, not only has the Muslim population grown significantly but several Hindus in the area have also been compelled to flee. He further revealed how for the last almost two decades, the village has not had a Hindu sarpanch. The current Muslim leader also backs the accused.
Tejram described another incident in which a Dalit woman was violently beaten up by Muslim villagers and made to compromise while detailing the suffering of the village’s Hindu population at the hands of the Muslim villagers. He further told OpIndia, “Many times in the past, Muslims here have implicated Hindus in bogus cases and gotten away with it.”