A conspiracy by Muslim fanatics to defame the ongoing Hindu religious pilgrimage of Kanwar Yatra has been unearthed in Bijnore, UP.
On 24 July, Sherkot Police received information about 2 Muslim brothers, Adil & Kamal, ransacking an Islamic Sufi shrine, Jalal Shah Mazar, & burning several chadars (shroud or sheet of cloth offered by devotees to cover the tomb of a Sufi pir). They had tied a saffron-coloured cloth on their heads to appear like Kanwariyas.
When they reached the spot & arrested the 2 men, they got to know that the two had carried out similar vandalism at 2 other shrines – Bhure Shah Mazar and Qutub Shah Mazar, said ADG (L&O) Prashant Kumar.
“This whole matter shows attempts to soil the atmosphere amid the Kanwar Yatra… Field officers instructed to be more alert; continuous social media monitoring also underway”, added the senior police officer.
Here is a video of the two men being accosted by villagers.
Recently, UP CM Yogi Adityanath had asked UP Police to be on alert to prevent any untoward incident during the Kanwar Yatra. Addressing senior official, Yogi had said that during the Hindu month of Sawan along with Kanwar Yatras, various programmes will be organised across the state. At some places, `Jalabhisek` will be organised, as will Yatras, Melas and other events and the focus should be on security and alertness.
“There are inputs that anti-social elements might attack the Kanwariyas in the evening while they are resting. There should be proper security at the spot where they rest as well as along the route they travel on. There should be traffic diversion on the route,” CM Yogi reportedly directed the officials, adding that a work plan must be prepared for the management of the crowd at major temples in coordination with the temple management.
Every year, the Kanwar Yatra is on the hit list of Islamic radicals and Hinduphobic ‘liberal-secular’ elites. While Islamists resort to violent attacks on these pilgrim or throw meat on their route, India’s Anglophone media is full of reports slandering the Hindu pilgrims as ‘hooligans’, ‘menace’ and even accusing the yatra of ‘food fascism’.