After the Vacation Bench of the Supreme Court refused to entertain a petition to stop ‘mahapanchayat’ in Uttarakhand and said that the petitioners can approach the High Court, the Uttarakhand High Court has agreed to hear a petition seeking to stop the ‘mahapanchayat’ proposed to be held in Purola amid communal tensions tomorrow.
The Uttarkashi district administration on Tuesday rejected the appeal of an organisation that had sought permission to conduct a Mahapanchayat on June 15 in Uttarkashi’s Purola regarding the alleged love Jihad cases.
Meanwhile, the administration has imposed restrictions on movement under Section 144 of CrPC in Purola to prevent any untoward incident, as per Uttarkashi district magistrate Abhishek Rohilla.
The tensions in Purola began on May 26 when a Muslim and a Hindu man were accused of attempting to abduct a 14-year-old Hindu girl. Local residents alleged the incident was an instance of ‘love jihad,’ a term used by right-wing groups to describe an alleged conspiracy by Muslim men to seduce Hindu women.
As communal tensions escalate, several Muslim shopkeepers have closed their businesses and left Purola.
