Uttarakhand CM Dhami orders police to take 'stern action' against love jihad after rise in cases

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered police officers to take “stern action” against people trying to do ‘love jihad’ in the state.

His comments came after he chaired a high-level meeting with senior police officers. “People of different faiths co-exist peacefully in Uttarakhand but things like love jihad will not be tolerated. Crimes like these were being committed as part of a conspiracy. But people are coming out openly against them now,” Dhami told reporters.

He added that the meeting was held to take feedback from the police on steps taken in connection with “love jihad” incidents reported recently from different parts of the state.

In the past few weeks, Haridwar, Chamoli and Uttarkashi have witnessed nearly half a dozen incidents of attempted abduction of minor Hindu girls by Muslim men who hid their religious identity to befriend them.

Dhami said the number of people coming out in the open against “love jihad” reflects a growing awareness about crimes of this nature.

“Awareness about love jihad is growing. That is why more such incidents have come to the fore over the past two-three months. One reason of this is the introduction of a severe anti-conversion law,” the Chief Minister said.

He added, “Instructions have been given to the police to deal sternly with the guilty in love jihad cases. They have also been asked to conduct verification drives from time to time to look into the antecedents of people coming from outside and settling here.”

Last month, a particular case of abduction caused a lot of rage in public where two men including a Muslim allegedly tried to abduct a Hindu girl in Purola of Uttarkashi.

There have been protests in Barkot, Chinyalisaur, and Bhatwari as well.

Many shops in Purola owned by Muslims have been closed for nearly a fortnight.

Posters were glued on these shops asking their owners to leave the town ahead of a Mahapanchayat slated to be held on June 15.

With inputs from PTI

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