By Team Clarion
UDHAM SINGH NAGAR – A new video from this district in Uttarakhand has shocked many people across the country. In it, Arvind Sharma, who manages the Ataria Devi Temple, stops a minor Muslim girl on the road and makes her say “Jai Shri Ram”. The girl looks scared as Sharma questions her faith and puts pressure on her until she speaks the words.
The video begins with Sharma exiting his car. He calls the girl closer and asks her straight, “Do you believe in God?” The child nods and says yes. He then asks, “Do you believe in Allah?” The girl answers clearly, “Yes, I believe in Allah and I have faith in him.”
Sharma does not stop there. He tells her, “When you believe in Allah and can say ‘La ilaha illallah Muhammadur Rasulullah’, then why can you not say ‘Jai Shri Ram’?” The minor girl looks worried. She nods her head slowly. Under fear and pressure, she finally says the words “Jai Shri Ram”. The video ends there.
People who saw the clip say the girl was forced. One social media user wrote, “A small child should not be treated like this. She was alone and afraid.” Another person posted, “This is wrong. No one has the right to scare a minor and make her say something against her own faith.”
This is the second time Arvind Sharma has come into the news for actions against Muslims. Only a few days earlier, another video went viral. In that clip, Sharma is seen beating an elderly Muslim man named Shahid. Shahid was offering namaz quietly in an empty field near the temple. He was not harming anyone. Sharma reached the spot, started shouting abuses and then hit him with sticks and rods.
Shahid was badly hurt. He went to the police and filed a case against Sharma and one other person. The police acted on the complaint. Senior Superintendent of Police Ajay Ganpati told reporters, “We arrested Arvind Sharma last night and sent him to jail.” The SSP also said that Sharma already had several old cases of fraud against him. The police have now added Section 196 to the case.
Sharma calls himself the manager of Ataria Devi Temple and is known to be close to a Hindu organisation. Many people say his actions show a clear pattern of targeting Muslims. First, he attacked an elderly man during peaceful prayer. Now he has stopped a little girl and questioned her religion before forcing her to chant a slogan of another faith.
Indian Muslims in Udham Singh Nagar and nearby areas are worried. One resident, who did not want to be named because of fear, said, “Our children go to school and play outside. After seeing this video, parents are scared to let them go alone. We are Indian citizens and we have the right to live without fear.”
This story was originally published in clarionindia.net. Read the full story here.