The Uttarakhand Waqf Board appealed to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Monday to dispel the fear among Muslims about their safety in the state in the wake of communal tension in Uttarkashi district.

Communal tension has been brewing in Purola and some other towns of the district since an alleged abortive attempt last month involving two men, including one from the minority community, to elope with a Hindu girl.

"The chief minister should give a firm assurance that helps restore a sense of security among Muslims about their lives and property in the state. What is happening in Uttarkashi and some other places is a cause for concern," Uttarakhand Waqf Board Chairman Shadab Shams told PTI.

Forty-two shops belonging to Muslims have reportedly been closed in Purola since May 26, when the failed elopement bid was reported in the town, triggering tension.

Posters were pasted by unidentified people on shops owned by Muslims, asking them to leave the town before a Mahapanchayat called by Hindu organisations in Purola on June 15 or prepare to face consequences.

Shams, who is also a leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said he will soon call on the chief minister as part of a delegation of Muslim leaders comprising Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLAs Shahzad (Laksar) and Sarvat Karim Ansari (Manglaur) besides himself, to apprise him of the urgency of the situation and request him to take immediate measures to diffuse the tension prevailing in parts of the state.

The Muslim Seva Santhan (MSS), an organisation fighting for the rights of Muslims, has also called a "Mahapanchayat" in Dehradun on June 18 to draw the state government's attention to the administration's failure in Purola and the "mass exodus" of members of the minority community from the hill town.

"We want to remind the chief minister of his constitutional oath. He is the chief minister not only of the majority, but also of the minorities. He should ensure that police act in an unbiased manner and take stringent measures against mischief makers on either side," MSS president Naeem Qureshi told PTI.

He also criticised the Congress, saying the silence of a "so-called" secular party on the "exodus" of Muslims from Purola is strange.

Ever since the failed elopement bid was reported in Purola, tension has gripped the town and has also spilled over to other towns, including Barkot, Gangotri, Bhatwari, Dunda, Gauchar, Nainbagh and Ranikhet, where Hindutva organisations have congregated to speak against "love jihad".

"Love jihad" is a term often used by right-wing organisations to allege that Hindu girls and women are being lured by Muslim men for the sake of conversion.

Due to the escalating tension, many Muslim traders have packed their bags and left Purola. Among them is also the BJP's Uttarkashi district minority cell president, Mohammad Zahid, who ran a garment shop in the hill town.

An ultimatum to Muslim traders to vacate their shops has also been served at Nainbagh by the Vyapar Mandal and the Hindu Yuva Vahini.

Though the girl in the Purola incident was rescued and the accused were sent to judicial custody, tension has not subsided as similar incidents have also been reported from the Mori area of Uttarkashi and Gauchar in Chamoli district, where the alleged perpetrators were Muslims and the victims Hindu girls.

The "Mahapanchayat" called by the MSS here on June 18, in which Ulemas and the members of the community will participate, will also raise the issue of a proposed Uniform Civil Code and the ongoing demolition of mazars (shrines) in the state, Qureshi said.

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