Over 10,000 Hindus protest in Akola

• Case of the rape of a minor Hindu girl by a religious fanatic
• MLA Sangram Jagtap demands to hang the arrested accused and enact the anti-Love Jihad law

Akola (Maharashtra) – The Hindu community showed unprecedented unity and staged a ‘Hindu Jan Aakrosh (public outrage) March’ to protest the rape of a 16-year-old minor girl in the Dabki Road area of Akola. More than 10,000 Hindus participated in the march from Shri Rajeshwar Temple to the District Collector’s office. Protesters vocally demanded that the accused be immediately given the death penalty and that the trial be conducted in a fast-track court. During the protest, Ahilyanagar MLA Sangram Jagtap strongly demanded the immediate enactment in Maharashtra of an anti-‘Love Jihad’ law with punishment of life imprisonment, on the lines of laws in Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. Shops along the march route were closed in solidarity with the protest.

1. On 6th September, while the victim’s parents had gone out for Ganesh idol immersion, Tauhidkhan Sameerkhan Baid (age 28) entered the minor Hindu girl’s house, threatened her with a knife, and brutally raped her.

2. A special 40-member team arrested the accused from Madhya Pradesh. Jagtap said the arrest came after pressure created by the march.

3. In the memorandum submitted to the District Collector at the end of the march, protesters demanded, along with the above, that the accused’s house be bulldozed, that those who aided him be made co-accused, and that the victim’s family be provided financial and legal assistance.

4. Jagtap warned, ‘If strict action is not taken immediately against the accused, it will create massive resentment in society and raise questions about the administration’s integrity. The safety of our sisters and daughters is our top priority, and the entire Hindu community will not remain quiet until the victim gets justice.

Editorial Perspectives

• Since the Police and Government have completely failed to stop ‘Love Jihad’, Hindus have had to take to the streets. This is extremely shameful for the Police and Government bodies that cannot protect Hindus. Why should people continue to pay taxes to institutions that cannot protect them?
• Unless the Government hangs those who flout the Police and law, such incidents will not stop. Hindus must pressure the Government to give death sentences for such Love Jihad perpetrators!