Ex Jharkhand Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Raghubar Das today took to social media to inform that he met the fruit-seller who was booked by Jharkhand Police for having “Hindu” written on his banner.
https://twitter.com/dasraghubar/status/1254305161448574977?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwDas said that he met the fruitseller while maintaining the social distancing guidelines issued amidst coronavirus outbreak and also had a word with the authorities. “We have assured them of all possible help. Also talked to the police officers and there will not be any case on the fruit vendors,” he tweeted.
Jharkhand Hindu fruit sellers
On Saturday, a group of fruit sellers in Jamshedpur were booked by the city police for writing Vishwa Hindu Parishad ki anumodit Hindu fal Dukan” which translates to “Hindu fruit shop approved by Vishwa Hindu Parishad”. In addition, the banners of the shop also carried the photos of Hindus deities- Lord Shiva and Lord Rama along with the phone numbers of the shop owners.
However, wearing one’s identity on their sleeves did not sit well with the Jamshedpur police which acted on a complaint raised by one Twitter user, Ahsan Razi, about the overt manifestation of religion by the shop owners. The police reached the spot and got the banners removed.
https://twitter.com/AhsanRazi1/status/1253827098671747072?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe Jamshedpur Police took to Twitter to inform about the developments made in the case. Taking cognisance of objection raised by a Twitter user, Jamshedpur police removed the banners put up by the fruit-sellers and has initiated punitive action against them. The concerned fruit-sellers have been charged under Section 107D of the Indian Penal Code. This section deals with action against persons who are “likely to commit a breach of the peace or disturb the public tranquillity or to do any wrongful act that may probably occasion a breach of the peace or disturb the public tranquillity”.
https://twitter.com/Jsr_police/status/1253967643889020930?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwJamshedpur Police faces social media backlash
Following Jamshedpur Police’s action, netizens took to social media to show their disproval.
https://twitter.com/jugunusingh/status/1254008234597212163?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Many pointed out how many hotels also have ‘Muslim’ in their hoarding and no one seems to have taken legal action against them. https://twitter.com/vk_bharatiya/status/1254065603826106369?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwAs many Twitter users have pointed out, there are many shops, mainly eateries, which mention names of religions. In every city and town in the country such shops can be seen. There are many eateries saying they are Muslim Hotel, Jain Hotel etc, and nobody objects to such nomenclature.