86 Muslim traders asked to leave Dharchula town of Uttarakhand after barber was arrested for abducting two Hindu minor girls, Muslims call it ‘elopement’, play victim
Sumit Narayan 
In Dharchula town of district Pithoragarh of Uttarakhand, the local traders’ association has asked 86 traders of the Muslim community. to leave the town. The association cancelled their licenses after the police arrested a barber of the Muslim community for allegedly abducting two Hindu minor girls and taking them to his UP hometown, Bareilly, in February this year.
On 8th February, Pithorgarh Superintendent of Police Lokeshwar Singh said in a statement that they arrested a man named Irfan for abducting two minor Hindu girls from Dharchula, Uttarakhand. Irfan and his associate took them to Bareilly intending to marry them. A case against the accused was filed under Sections 363 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code and appropriate Sections of the POCSO Act.
Reports suggest that Mohammad Irfan came in contact with the girls and lured them. He was working as a barber in Dharchula town. During interrogation, he revealed that he wanted to take them to Bengaluru. The girls were abducted on 1st February and recovered on 4th February.
After the ultimatum given by the local traders, Islamists and left-liberals cried foul on social media, and a social media account, “Hate Detector”, published a post on the matter, painting the Muslims in the area as “victims”. The handle wrote, “In #Uttarakhand’s #Dharchula, local trader association cancelled the registration of 91 shopkeepers almost all #Muslims and locals are being urged not to rent out their shop and house to ‘outsiders’. Campaign to drive out “outsiders” is on in town after #Muslim man eloped with a local girl. Following the elopement on 1 February, the police arrested a man from #Bareilly two days later. However, local people continued their campaign against “outsiders”. Boycott calls were given during the campaign. “We will not give the shop and house on rent to the outsiders. Neither, we will buy anything from them,” said a speaker while addressing a crowd.” Interestingly, they painted abduction as “elopement” and targetted the locals who were horrified by the incident as if they were oppressing the Muslim traders.
