UP: Muslim Families Put up ‘For Sale’ Signs Outside Homes in Shamli, Some Flee, Citing Police Brutality

In a development reminiscent of the Kairana exodus, over two hundred Muslim families of Taprana village in Shamli town in Muzzafarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh, have alleged that they were being persecuted for being a religious minority by the local police at the behest of the Yogi Adityanath government. They have threatened to leave the area where they were born, grew up and built their homes.

Ever since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed the government in the state in 2017, and Yogi Adityanath assumed the office of Chief Minister, there has been a history of allegations of police discrimination. This is not the first time when Muslims have threatened an exodus due to alleged police persecution in the state.

According to local Muslim residents, Shamli has seen repeated incidents of harassment and alleged one-sided action by the police, inciting communal tensions, in clashes between Hindus and Muslims. The local Muslims have put up ‘for sale’ signs outside their houses, requesting people to buy the properties so that they could vacate them.