Team Clarion
CHAMOLI — Eight Muslim families, living in this picturesque district for generations, have been forced to abandon their abodes following attacks on members of the minority community and their shops during a protest over an incident of women harassment.
On 1 September, some members of the Muslim community were attacked and their shops were vandalised and looted by a mob protesting against the alleged harassment of a woman by a Muslim barber in Nandanagar town a week earlier.
Ahmed, a resident of Nandanagar, said 10 families were living in the area. Now, eight of them have fled after attacks on some members of the community.
“In our area, there were 10 Muslim families. Eight families have fled the town. The remaining two families are also being asked to leave the area. But where will they go? When I fled, I had children with me. We walked 15-20 km in the night to reach a road from where we took a bus,” he said.
Ahmed said now he feels relaxed. He said he was terrified and had apprehension of being attacked by his neighbours.
“Fear filled my heart. Even now when I hear their names, I feel that they will kill me. Such a terror has been instilled in my heart. Now, I have no intention to go back there,” said Ahmed.
According to him, never has such an incident happened for decades. He had good relations with the people living there. They used to visit houses of each other. Ahmed used to donate money for their religious functions and cooperate with them physically. “There was no animosity between us. Yet, I was beaten up,” he said.
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.