Muslim residents forced to flee Pune villages after boycott calls, allege rights groups

Muslim residents of several villages in Maharashtra’s Pune district have been forced to flee their homes and shut businesses in the past two months amid boycott calls by “majoritarian forces”, two human rights organisations have alleged.

In a letter to the Pune divisional commissioner on June 30, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties and the Association for Protection of Civil Rights also urged authorities to act against those creating a “sense of insecurity” in Paud, Pirangut, Kolvan, Suatarwadi and the surrounding villages of Mulsi taluk.

The two groups had conducted a fact-finding exercise in the district on July 2 after reports emerged that residents of the villages were threatened “not to allow any Muslim to work or employ him/her in any business or profession or allow them to stay as a tenant”.

The threats came after a Muslim boy allegedly desecrated an idol of the Hindu deity Annapurna in Paud village on May 2, according to the letter.

“Some residents of the village beat him up and handed him over to the local police,” it said, adding that a case was registered and the boy was arrested.

Following this, political parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, organised protests condemning the incident. The situation was brought under control by the...

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