Hindu group tells meat shop owners to shut for Navratri

GURUGRAM: They said that if we do not close the shops then they will make sure that we keep our shops closed. We’ll do as the government says and not listen to any groups. We will meet the DC.

TAHIR QURESHI, shop owner

Members of an umbrella body of various rightwing Hindu groups, called the Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti(SHSS) visited meat shops in different parts of the city, on Saturday and Sunday, asking their owners to keep their shops closed during the Navratri festival, between October 10 to 18.

On Wednesday, the representatives of SHSS, Gurugram, met deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh and demanded that all meat shops in the city be closed during the Navratri.

After the meeting, they had said, if the administration fails to act, they will ensure that meat isn’t sold during the festival.

When contacted, Rajeev Mittal, a member of the group said on Sunday, “We have asked our members to visit various meat shops in their areas and urge their owners to shut their shops during the Navratri.”

“If the administration does not act, we will ensure that all meat shops are shut on the first day of the Navratri,” Mittal added.

The development was confirmed by the meat shop owners as well. “Around 50 people who claimed to be members of Bajrang Dal came to our shops and asked us to close them during the Navratri,” said Tahir Qureshi, 55, leader of a market next to Jama Masjid near Sadar Bazar.

“They said that if we do not close the shops then they will make sure that we keep our shops closed,” Qureshi said. “We’ll do as the government says and not listen to any groups. We will meet the DC,” he added

In March 2017, during Chaitra Navratri, around 300 meat shops were forcibly shut by protesters on both sides of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. Similarly, in September 2017, about 500 meat shops were forced to close by a group claiming to be members of Shiv Sena.