By Huneza Khan
Bhopal: After a series of videos emerged showing Madhya Pradesh police publicly parading crime accused forcing them to chant slogans like “Police hamari baap hai (police is our father)” and “Gaai hamari mata hai (cow is our mother)”, now, a new video from Bhopal shows a police officer – on camera, in uniform – warning Muslims to stay out of a gym, raising fresh concerns over the police’s involvement in promoting communal narratives.
The controversy, this time, centres on sub-inspector Dinesh Shukla, who is seen sitting with Bajrang Dal members in a purported video addressing people inside a gym, stating, “Yahan koi bhi Mohammadan na ayega, na training lene ayega, na training dene ayega. Meine keh diya (No Mohammedan will come here, neither to take training nor to give it. I have said it).”
SI Shukla, in a widely circulated video, appears to enforce an informal ban on the presence of Muslim men in public spaces like the gym, reflecting the language used by right-wing groups who push the ‘love jihad’ conspiracy theory. While the sub-inspector has been line attached, his presence, alongside self-declared vigilantes, has raised serious questions about the narrowing gap between law enforcement and ideological policing in Madhya Pradesh.
Slogans, raids and threats in the name of honour
Hindutva vigilantes have been increasingly targeting Muslim individuals in the state under the pretext of “love jihad”. The term lacks any legal basis but is still used to allege that Muslim men lure Hindu women into romantic relationships to convert them to Islam.
The Madhya Pradesh Police recently also formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe allegations of forced religious conversions linked to a rape case.
Ayodhya Nagar police station station house officer (SHO) Mahesh Lilhare confirmed to The Wire that the incident took place on May 28 following a visit by members of Hindutva organisations to the gym. He said that the matter is under investigation, but the video that is circulating seems to be edited.
However, in another video from a gym in Bhopal, men associated with Hindutva organisations can be seen barging into the gym while shouting slogans like “Jai Shri Ram” and “Love jihad karne walon ko, joote maaro saalon ko (Beat up those who do love jihad).”
One of the men, who is also seen in the other video with SI Dinesh Shukla, is seen advising the gym management, asking, “Ladkiyon ko training kaun deta hai (Who trains the girls)?”
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.
