A restaurant called ‘Punjabi Dhaba’ was run by a Muslim man in Kurukshetra, Haryana. It is alleged that, objecting to very name of it, people associated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal attacked the dhaba (eatery) even as police remained a mute spectator
As per reports, the Hindutva men broke chairs, ruined the food and other items, chanted ‘Jai Shri Ram’, recited the Hanuman Chalisa, and also delivered communal speeches. A purported video of the entire incident is circulating on social media and police is seemingly a spectator.
The incident occurred on the evening of March 24. It is alleged that the mob was led by one Rakesh Kathwad, who claims to be a regional leader of VHP. In a video of the incident, Kathwad is heard claiming that the dhaba owner is Muslim and is operating it under a changed name. He further claims that by concealing his religious identity, the dhaba owner is hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus and attracting them to his dhaba.
A Bajrang Dal leader is heard saying, “Kurukshetra is a religious city. We have warned people from other communities several times earlier also that they should run their business by writing their religion or name in front of their shop
Kathwad is also heard alleging that meat and fish is served at the dhaba. In the video, he is seen speaking hatefully, saying, “‘Vidharmis’ (heretics) are running businesses here using Hindu names like ‘Sugandh Dhaba’, ‘Punjabi Dhaba’, etc. Even during Navratri, these are open and meat is being sold openly. We even avoid garlic and onions in these days. This ‘Punjabi Dhaba’ belongs to a Sikh brother who has rented it out to a Muslim. I’d even tell him to remember what these people did to your Sikh gurus.”
In the video, Hindutva organisations are openly heard threatening that no one should rent a shop or house to Muslim people, otherwise “you yourself will be responsible for further action.”
A Hindu shopkeeper nearby condemned the incident to this writer, calling it an act of hooliganism. On the condition of anonymity, the shopkeeper said, “This is hooliganism. No one here hides their identity. We’ve known Mushtaq Bhai (the dhaba owner’s name) for 35 years. The allegations of meat and fish are completely false. Even if someone smokes a beedi at this dhaba, food is not served to him. These people created such a ruckus, threw away prepared food and caused so much destruction that we were horrified. They threw the gas cylinder out of the shop with such force that it could have caused a major accident and even neighbouring shops could be affected.”
This writer couldn’t speak to Mushtaq Ali, who runs the dhaba, but his brother, Irshad Ali, said, “These people were just playing politics by spreading hatred in the name of religion. They were creating chaos by telling lies.”
This story was originally published in newsclick.in. Read the full story here.