A case has been registered against unknown persons after a poster prohibiting the entry of Muslim traders was put up in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district.
The poster was removed by the police on Sunday, April 3, after pictures of the poster started making rounds on social media.
‘Muslim vyapariyon ka gaon mein pravesh nishedh hai (Muslim traders are not allowed in the village),’ read the poster, which was reportedly signed on behalf of residents of Pemalpur village in Depalpur tehsil.
According to reports, the poster targeting a particular community was put up on Saturday.
The incident came to the fore after Congress leader Digvijay Singh retweeted a post that carried a photo of the poster and said, ‘Such discrimination in the society is not in the interest of the country.’
Addressing Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and state police, the former CM asked, ‘Is this act not against the appeal of Prime Minister Modi? Is this act not a criminal offence as per our law?’
क्या यह कृत्य प्रधान मंत्री मोदी जी की अपील के विरुद्ध नहीं है? क्या यह कृत्य हमारे क़ानून में दण्डनीय अपराध नहीं है? मेरे ये प्रश्न मुख्य मंत्री शिवराज चौहान जा व मप्र पुलिस से हैं। समाज में इस प्रकार का विभाजन-बिखराव देश हित में नहीं है। https://t.co/rGV1qD2UXh
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) May 3, 2020
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Indore) said that the poster was removed as soon the police received information about it, reported, The Indian Express.
He further informed that a case has been registered against unknown persons since the identity of the individuals who committed the offence was not yet known.
The incident has been reported at a time when the country has been put through another extended lockdown to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his appeal to the nation, had reiterated that the coronavirus does not see ‘race, religion, caste and creed’ before striking and therefore it was crucial to combat the virus with a sense of ‘unity and brotherhood.’
