Sagar (Madhya Pradesh): Communal tensions escalated in the Sunwaha area of Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday after a large mob of right-wing activists attacked Muslim homes and shops, accusing a Muslim youth of eloping with a Hindu girl. The incident sparked widespread panic in the region, resulting in property damage and arson, reported the Dawat news.
According to reports, the situation turned volatile after news spread that a Hindu girl allegedly ran away with a Muslim youth on the day of her wedding. As family members failed to locate her, they confronted the youth’s residence only to discover that he, too, was missing. The girl’s family and local right-wing groups framed the incident as a case of “love jihad,” inciting the mob to violence.
Several shops and houses belonging to Muslims were vandalized and set ablaze. Local police responded swiftly after receiving information, deploying additional forces from nearby stations to control the unrest. Tear gas was used and mild force applied to disperse the crowd. Despite the police presence, the atmosphere in the village remains tense.
BJP MLA from Naryawali, Pradeep Laria, further stoked the fire by labeling the youth as a criminal and alleging that this was the fifth such incident in the area. “These acts of luring girls under the guise of hidden identity will not be tolerated,” he said, demanding strict action under the BJP-led state government.
This incident is one among several recent communal flare-ups in Madhya Pradesh, raising concerns about rising intolerance and the targeting of the minority Muslim community under the pretext of “love jihad.”
