Mumbra MLA Jitendra Awhad pulled up the UP police fiercely. (PTI File)
“As their internal survey has shown that they will not get a good number of seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming elections, they are trying to defame the MVA… All these efforts by the BJP-led governments in UP and Maharashtra are,” says Mumbra MLA Awhad
Questioning the claim of the Ghaziabad Police that 400 people were converted to Islam using online games in Maharashtra’s Mumbra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the area Jitendra Awhad Terming it as “an attempt”, sought “evidence”. The image of the city where development is taking place is getting tarnished.
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The racket was busted on May 30 when a teenager’s father lodged a complaint with the Ghaziabad police station that his child had suddenly started offering prayers five times a day. When he confronted the child, he became furious and said that he would leave the house and stay with the cleric he was in touch with. The Ghaziabad police are on the lookout for the alleged mastermind Shahnawaz Khan alias Baddo, a Thane resident near Mumbai, and have reached Mumbra. Two others have been arrested in the case.
Speaking to News18, Awhad said, “A senior UP police officer has alleged that 400 children were converted to Islam through an online gaming app and has a Mumbra connection. He has been asked to present evidence and proof of his claim.” Why are they maligning the name of the developing Mumbra city.
“Investments are coming in Mumbra. There are many housing projects going on in the city. This is a clear attempt to malign the image of Mumbra with such baseless reports.
Mumbra is a largely Muslim dominated city with a 25–27% Hindu population. Awhad has been representing this assembly constituency for the last three terms.
A senior police officer in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad says that 400 people of Hindu and Jain faith have been coaxed into becoming Muslims and forced to follow Islamic practices. Disappointing to hear such loose talk from a senior police officer on such a sensitive matter… — Dr. Jitendra Awhad (@Awhadspeaks) June 8, 2023
‘Conspiracy of BJP governments in UP, Maharashtra’
Awhad termed it a conspiracy by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) governments in Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra to defame the Muslim-majority region. “They want to suppress my voice, so all these efforts are being made by the UP and Maharashtra government. Earlier, the state government had filed a false case against me and added new sections to an old case to target me. I have challenged UP police to show 400 cases of conversion. They will not get a single case,” said Awhad.
‘MVA defamed for electoral gains’
“As their internal survey has shown that they will not get a good number of seats in Maharashtra in the upcoming elections, they are trying to defame the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) by adopting such gimmicks,” he said.
He said, ‘It has become a routine of BJP leaders and ministers to make statements without facts. BJP minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha had given a statement on the floor of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly that there are one lakh cases of love jihad, but when I asked for proof, he could not present it. UP police is also doing the same. If they have evidence, they should show it to us,” he said.
Awhad also raised questions on the Maharashtra Police.
“How is it possible that so many conversions are taking place in Mumbra city and our police are not aware of it? Why would the Maharashtra Police remain silent?”
