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‘Thakur village’ signboard sparks tension in UP’s Meerut area
Station house officer of Hastinapur police station Ashok Kumar visited the village on Friday after the signboard picture started doing the rounds on social media. He held a meeting with villagers to resolve the issue.
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Tension prevailed in Bastora Narang village of Hastinapur in Meerut after a group of Thakurs declared it a ‘Thakur village’ on Wednesday. They put up a sign board to this effect at the entrance of the village, with paintings of Maharana Pratap and Prithviraj Chauhan.
Other communities, including Scheduled Castes, Muslims and Kashyaps objected to this move and submitted a complaint in the Hastinapur police station on Thursday, accusing the Thakurs of provoking people and trying to incite a caste confrontation in the village.
The village has a population of over 8,000, dominated by Thakurs, followed by Scheduled Castes, Muslims, Kashyaps, Sikhs and other communities.
Gram Sabha member Indramani Jayant said, “We have lived here for generations amid peace and brotherhood. Now some notorious elements are trying to incite a caste-flare-up.”
Station house officer of Hastinapur police station Ashok Kumar visited the village on Friday after the signboard picture started doing the rounds on social media. He held a meeting with villagers to resolve the issue.
Kumar claimed that the issue was resolved after members of both sides agreed in writing that the board would be repainted with ‘Village Bastora Natang Welcomes You’.
Villagers, however, said that the Thakurs had merely omitted the word ‘Thakur’ and ‘Rajputana’ instead of repainting the board and writing a welcome message on it.
Deshraj Kashyap, a villager, said that it all started on Wednesday when a group of Thakurs painted a state government board put up for the publicity of PM Saubhagya Yojna. It was then installed at the entrance of the village after writing “Thakur Gram Bastora Narang me aapka hardik Swagat hai”(Thakur village Bastora Narang heartily welcomes you) with pictures of Maharana Pratap and Prithviraj Chauhan.
Indramani Jayant demanded that action should be initiated against those who attempted to sabotage peace and harmony in the village and the controversial board should immediately be uprooted.
SHO Kumar said that those who were involved in it would be identified and strict action will be taken against them. He said that no case had been registered in the matter.
