NEW DELHI: A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking setting up of a special investigating team (SIT) to probe alleged forceful conversion of Hindus in Haryana's Nuh district.
The plea has alleged that the life, personal liberty and religious rights of Hindus in the areas of Nuh are being 'continuously eroded' by members of the minority community who are in a 'dominating position' there.
The petition, filed by a group of lawyers and a social worker based in Uttar Pradesh, has claimed that the state government, district administration and the police have failed to exercise their powers due to which the life and liberty of Hindus, particularly of women and Dalits, are in jeopardy and they are bound to lead 'life under sword' of the dominant group there.
The plea, filed through advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, has sought the top court's direction for constituting a SIT, consisting of members from the CBI and the NIA, under the supervision of a retired apex court judge.
It said the SIT should probe instances of forceful conversion of Hindus, illegal execution of sale deeds of their properties, atrocities committed against Hindu women and girls, encroachment made on public land, conditions of temples and religious places and also cremation grounds existing in the area.
The plea has also sought direction to the Centre to deploy paramilitary forces in Nuh district to protect the life and liberty of citizens.
It has said the authorities should be directed to rehabilitate Hindus at their respective properties and restore all temples, places of worship and cremation grounds in their original forms which have been encroached upon by any member of society.
The plea said directions should be given to probe and take action on FIRs lodged by members of the Hindu community relating to incidents including murder, rape, kidnapping and house trespass.
Referring to the Census 2011, the plea has said the total population of Mewat district was 10,89,263 in which Muslim population was estimated as 79.20 per cent, Hindu was 20.37 per cent and the remaining 0.43 per cent consisted of Sikh, Buddhist, Jains etc.
It is relevant to mention that there are about 431 villages in Mewat-Nuh. 103 villages have become totally devoid of Hindus. In 82 villages only 4-5 Hindu families are left,' the plea has said, adding, "There is significant decline of Hindu population in the district Mewat-Nuh giving rise to a demographic changes which will be disastrous for the unity of the Nation."