Several cases of Muslim youths entering Navratri Garba Pandals by hiding their identity and pretending to be Hindu have come to the fore. Locals in Ahmedabad and Indore reportedly beat up the accused Muslim youths after they were caught filming and photographing Hindu girls.
On Wednesday, 7 Muslim youths were arrested by the police from the Garba pandal of Pandharinath in Indore. They were reportedly making videos of Hindu girls. At the same time, Muslim youths who entered the Garba pandal in the Sindhu Bhavan area in Ahmedabad were thrashed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal activists. The video of the same is going viral on social media.
अहमदाबाद: गरबा में दो मुस्लिम युवकों की हुई पिटाई, सूचना मिलने पर चेकिंग करने पहुंचे थे VHP और Bajrang Dal के कार्यकर्ता#BajrangDal #Garba pic.twitter.com/CdqMqVWPp6
— News24 (@news24tvchannel) September 28, 2022
In the case of Indore Garba Pandal, the Bajrang workers asked for the names of suspected Muslim youths and to show their IDs. Initially, the Muslim youths took Hindu names and did not even show ID, however, after further questioning once their real names were known, they were handed over to the police. A case was filed under the prohibitory sections against Muslim youths. On Wednesday, all of them were brought before the court. All the accused were released on bail.
In an exclusive conversation with OpIndia, Bajrang Dal Ahmedabad east area co-ordinator Hiren Rabari said, “Every time we inform everyone in advance that no non-Hindu should enter this Hindu festival. We had also issued a warning for this year. We visited some of the pandals on Tuesday (September 27, 2022).
“We were standing in front of the entrance spreading awareness among Hindus about ‘love jihad,’ every youth was entering the pandal by applying tilak, everyone’s identity card was checked to ensure that no non-Hindu enters by lying, while some Muslim youths had entered the pandal by disguising their identity,” he added.
Hiren Rabari also informed OpIndia that during the inspection of a pandal at SP Ring road, two suspected youths were given a warning and expelled from the pandal.
Bajrang Dal activists are keeping a vigil eye on Garba Pandals to prevent miscreants from entering and disturbing communal harmony. The Bajrang Dal asserts that Muslim men don’t take part in Garba with devotion to Hindu deities. They go to Garba pandals with the malicious intent of luring Hindu girls.
