Jaipur, March 1: Hindu organisations in Ajmer took out a protest rally on Saturday, demanding a CBI inquiry into the alleged sexual exploitation of five minor girls of the community in Rajasthan’s Beawar district.
The ‘Aakrosh Rally’ was taken out from Gandhi Bhawan to Ajmer Collectorate in Bijainagar, where protesters staged a dharna. The markets remained closed in the area.
The protesters also called for examining the registration of madrasas in Ajmer and asked for strict action on hookah bars that have become hubs of “immoral activities”.
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Rajasthan’s Beawar district, formerly a part of Ajmer district, is in the grip of communal tension over the alleged sexual assault and attempted forced conversion of five minor girls in Beawar. Ten men have been arrested and three minor boys have been detained in the case.
On Saturday, BJP MLA from Ajmer South Anita Bhadel, deputy mayor of Ajmer Municipal Corporation Neeraj Jain, leaders from VHP and other Hindu organisations, and members of market associations took part in the rally and the dharna.
During the protest, some agitators climbed on the barricades outside the collectorate. In some places, the tyres of tempo vans were deflated and passengers were made to get off the vehicles.
Sakal Hindu Samaj submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma through the collector.
As per the memorandum, some youths formed a gang involved in ‘love jihad’ and targeted school girls. “First they are trapped in love, then gifted mobile phones,” it said.
“The accused not only sexually exploited the girls in a city cafe, but also blackmailed them to convert. If the victims did not perform religious activities, they were tortured,” the memorandum read.
Deputy Mayor Neeraj Jain said the girls were blackmailed and mentally tortured.
“The accused pressurised them to have physical relations. They threatened to kill the girls’ family members if they refused to perform religious activities,” he said.
He demanded a CBI inquiry and a thorough examination of the mobile phones of all the accused to find if there were more victims.
Jain called for strict action against hookah bars running under the guise of cafes and restaurants in the city, calling them hubs of “immoral activities”. The madrasas in Ajmer district and their registration should also be investigated, he added.
Bijainagar Police registered three FIRs on February 16, based on complaints from the victims’ family members.
Investigating officer Sher Singh said the arrested individuals included eight Muslims and two Hindus, who were cafe operators. The three minors are also Muslims.
The case came to light after one of the minor girls stole Rs 2,000 from her father’s wallet, allegedly to pay one of the accused. A Chinese mobile phone was also recovered from her later, with which she was allegedly speaking to the accused.
After the incident, the families of the accused, the local Jama Masjid and a century-old graveyard received encroachment notices from the Bijainagar municipality administration. A few of the encroachments have already been removed. (PTI)
