Security has been stepped up in Purola, Uttarakhand, amid rising communal unrest

Following an alleged attempt to kidnap a little child, community animosity in Purola led to an increase in security on Wednesday.

Following the purported attempt on May 26 to kidnap the Hindu girl by two males, one of whom was a Muslim, which was thwarted by the community, threatening signs appeared on the shutters of businesses owned by members of the minority population in Purola and demanded that they leave the town immediately.

According to Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi, a battalion of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) was stationed in the town as a precaution to stop the situation from turning worse.

Nearly two weeks after the event, the town is still tense, with some 40 Muslim-owned stores in the market still closed.

The business owners were warned by the posters, which were put up on Sunday night, to leave Purola before a “mahapanchayat” that the Devbhoomi Raksha Abhiyan will hold on June 15—or else. An official added that police have taken down the posters and are looking for the individuals who posted them there to cause problems.

Several towns in the Ganga and Yamuna valleys of the Uttarkashi region have seen demonstrations against the occurrence, which the protestors have dubbed a case of “love jihad” in Purola, Barkot, and Chinyalisaur. Local trade organizations actively took part in the demonstrations, led by extreme Hindu organizations like the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Hindu Jagriti Manch.

They claimed that foreign Muslim hawkers and sellers were behind the attempted kidnapping and other such instances in the past. Although the child was saved and the suspects were charged and imprisoned under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act, the actions failed to appease the protestors who have been holding frequent demonstrations in the cities.

Dipak Bijalwan, the head of the Uttarkashi Zilla Panchayat, has even pleaded with Purola residents to refrain from renting out their homes to strangers. He also said that the Zilla Panchayat would not allow hawkers and sellers from outside the state to operate in the town, showing his support for the regional trade organizations.