BJP MLA defends mob, questions Muslim youths roaming around temples

RANCHI: BJP MLA Rajkumar Thukral stokes controversy during visit to temple where the agitated mob comprising right-wing outfits was intent on thrash a Muslim youth who visited temple with Hindu girl.

Thukral objected to the presence of a Muslim youth in the temple premises. “Why were they roaming (in the temple premises) with a Hindu girl? They tried to ignite the emotions of the Hindu community,” he said.

The BJP lawmaker from Uttarakhand’s Rudrapur who was recently in the eye of a storm for slapping a Dalit woman and has been also accused of caning her two daughters at his residence and roughing up staff at a toll plaza further went ahead and said, “if the situation in the temple premises (Ramnagar) does not improve, then ‘the Hindu Sena (army)’ will take charge of the situation. Those who are trying to demean Hindu culture by indulging in forced religious conversion and strengthening the roots of love jihad, will not be tolerated.”

The MLA added that if Gagandeep Singh did not arrive in time, the crowd would have killed Irfan.

Tension was created in the Kuria temple area of ​​Ramnagar last week after the crowd spotted 23-year-old Irfan with a 19-year-old Hindu girl walking around the Garjia Devi temple premises and began thrashing him when SI Gagandeep Singh reached the spot and shielded Irfan from the angry mob.

A video of the Sikh police officer, Gagandeep Singh is doing the rounds on social media, with people hailing his bravery after he saved a Muslim man from allegedly being mob lynched.