New Delhi: Days after reports emerged that a Muslim boy was forced to say “Jai Shree Ram” in Gurugram, Haryana, fresh rumours have begun swirling that the state government has ordered the inspection of Eid biryani to make sure no one is cooking beef.
Eid-ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramzan, is expected to be celebrated on 5 or 6 June, and social media is already abuzz with rumours that the Haryana government has ordered the police to check Muslim households, leading to Muslim residents feeling unsafe.
However, when ThePrint tried to ascertain the authenticity of the information with the police and cow protection groups, both dismissed it as fake news.
‘No such request or order’
Social media posts say the police have been asked to either taste or inspect the utensils used for cooking food, to make sure beef has not been used in cooking. They say the purported government order has been issued at the request of a cow protection group called Haryana Gau Seva Aayog.
However, Dr Raj Saini, a senior member of the group, denied the existence of any such order and said all this is rumour-mongering. “Elections have just concluded and some people are now trying to serve their own purposes by spreading rumours that can create rift between two communities,” he said.
The police have also confirmed that the rumours are false. Harish Bhardwaj, public relations officer of the Haryana Police, told ThePrint that his department has not issued or received any such notice or order.
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Many ‘incidents’ being reported
Just after Narendra Modi was elected as Prime Minister of India for the second time, isolated incidents of attacks on minorities were reported from various parts of the country.
In Gurugram recently, a Muslim boy was allegedly thrashed and forced to say “Jai Sri Ram”. He had alleged that his cap was removed forcefully and he was threatened with slogans like “Go to Pakistan”.
However, police investigation revealed that the complaint of forceful removal of the cap was false. The police also said that the matter is still under investigation, and it would be too early to say that whether it was a communal issue or not.
The victim’s family, meanwhile, has alleged that the police are intentionally weakening the case.
After this incident in Gurugram, several other similar incidents were ‘reported’ from other parts of Haryana.