Himachal Pradesh: mob vandalises Muslim man's shop for sharing animal sacrifice video on WhatsApp

Shopkeepers here downed shutters and a mob ransacked the shop of a Muslim trader from Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur on Wednesday, accusing the man of posting a video of cow slaughter during Eid-ul-Adha.

The local units of Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal in Sirmaur district’s Nahan town also issued an “ultimatum” to seven Muslim traders who hail from Saharanpur to vacate their shops within 24 hours.

The video at the centre of the controversy was purportedly shot in Saharanpur.

An X user on Wednesday posted a video showing several people ransacking a shop in Nahan, throwing stuff out, mostly books and clothes, while police tried to contain them.

Police told PTI that they had collected the thrown out stuff in bags and put them back inside the shop.

Some local Hindu outfits took out a protest march in the town raising slogans against the alleged killing of the cow, demanding strict action against them.

They also enforced a shutdown of all commercial activities in the town.

The marchers, more than 2,000 residents, passed through the main town and went up to the office of Sirmaur Deputy Commissioner to submit a memorandum of their demands.

On Tuesday evening, hundreds of youths belonging to Hindu outfits came out on roads in protest after the video of the purported cow sacrifice became viral.

Himachal Pradesh BJP chief Rajiv Bindal demanded the police file an FIR against the person who uploaded the video online.

Senior Police Superintendent Raman Kumar Meena said he has received the complaint from some Hindu rights bodies and an enquiry has been ordered in the matter.

Meena appealed to the people to maintain peace and have full faith in the investigating agency.

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