- Residents of Bhopal's Banganga area deny communal tensions despite recent claims of harassment
- A personal dispute involving Radha Yadav's family triggered allegations of Muslim harassment
- Police registered an FIR against two individuals but made no arrests and received no migration complaints
On the morning of July 24, the narrow, crowded alleys of Bhopal's Banganga area suddenly turned into a theatre of chants and colour. Saffron flags fluttered, loudspeakers echoed with cries of "Jai Shri Ram," and amidst the spiritual fervour, a disturbing claim began doing the rounds: that Hindu families were fleeing the area, allegedly harassed by their Muslim neighbours.
Some Hindu outfits claimed an exodus was underway and that Hindus were being forced to abandon their homes, but as an NDTV team reached the ground the next day, the truth was far more layered and far removed from the noise.
What remained in the streets was a tense silence. The loudspeakers were gone, the saffron flags removed, but the unease lingered. The air carried a weight not of religious strife, but of fear and confusion. What emerged was not a story of communal hatred, but of a personal dispute that had been cleverly repackaged as a religious flashpoint.
Radha Yadav, a resident, had put up a poster on her house that read: "Due to harassment by Muslims, this house is for sale." That poster had since disappeared, but the fear in her voice hadn't. She alleged that on July 21, a group of boys vandalised vehicles parked near her house. When she tried to record a video, she says she was hit on the hand, and her son was also assaulted.
Her nightly ordeal, she claims, included a crowd of boys gathering outside, abusing her family, issuing threats, and even staging bizarre late-night celebrations like cutting cakes. She said complaints to the police and the Chief Minister's helpline went unanswered and it was then, in frustration and fear, that she posted the sign announcing her intent to sell the house.
Her sister, Shanti Kanaujia, who lives next door, shared similar allegations. She claimed that when she protested against the harassment, she was physically attacked. The police, she says, didn't help, and instead, she was blamed, and the sister of one of the accused filed a counter-complaint. "We were the ones assaulted, and they made it look like we were the attackers," she said.
Residents in the rest of the locality told a different story. They called it a personal feud, not a communal issue. Deepak Singh, a local, said, "This is not about religion. There have always been flags during Moharram, and now there are saffron flags too and we've coexisted peacefully."
Others echoed this sentiment. Arman Khan said that if you parked a car or even passed by Radha's home, she would abuse and threaten to call the police. people who had grown up in the neighbourhood said in one voice: "This is not our fight. Someone is creating this atmosphere."
"This locality has never had a communal atmosphere," said Saif Ahmed. "We celebrate festivals together. The Moharram procession starts from a Hindu's house, and the Durga idol is installed near a Muslim's home."
Rahul Solanki, a lifelong resident, added, "I've seen Moharram and Holi celebrated here together. There was never any tension; this has been manufactured."
Residents like Sheela Raikwar believe that certain organisations are exploiting a personal feud for communal mileage. "They come, shout slogans for 10 minutes, stick posters, create news, and leave," she said. "This is not a Hindu-Muslim issue. It's a private matter, being politicised."
The police have now registered an FIR against two individuals based on Shanti's complaint. But there have been no arrests so far. Importantly, the police confirmed that no official complaint of migration due to religious harassment had been received. The so-called protest, they said, had no prior permission and seemed to be a spontaneous political stunt.
"We received information from the Banganga area about a scuffle and exchange of abuses between two communities. An FIR has been registered and legal action is underway. However, no arrests have been made so far. No official complaint was submitted to the police station regarding any alleged migration due to harassment by Muslims. The protest that took place did not have prior permission; we were only informed about it," senior police officer Ankita Khatarkar said.
