The residents of a village in Rudraprayag, Uttarakhand, have banned the entry of “outsiders” without identity proof, a decision that some say targets vendors belonging to a particular community.

Amit Rawat, panchayat chief of Kanda-Bhardar village, told reporters in Rudraprayag on Wednesday: “We have put up notices at three entry points to the village that unidentified people, particularly vendors who come from other states, would be fined if they were found in the village. The villagers have decided that those who violate the ban would be made to pay ₹5,000 as a penalty.”

Prabodh Ghildiyal, superintendent of police of Uttarakhand, said: “We have come to know about the notice boards in Kanda-Bhardar. The village panchayat is free to take such a decision for the safety of their residents.”

Ghildiyal said the police could not intervene as there was no mention of any caste or community on the notice boards.

“The police would act if it creates any social disharmony,” he added.

Kanda Bhardar falls under Jakholi block.

A villager told reporters on the condition of anonymity: “The members of a particular community come here on cycles to sell clothes and mobile accessories or to repair mobile phones. They have often cheated villagers or misbehaved with women.
The entire village supports the decision. Those who come to meet the villagers for some other work can show their identity cards to whoever asks for it and can enter.”

The villager said the vendors were mostly Bangladeshi nationals or Rohingyas. “We don’t want to land in any trouble by allowing them in our villages,” he added.

A similar decision was taken by the members of the Madanpur gram panchayat in the district in August.

The residents of several villages in Kedarghati in Champawat district, Ukhimath village in Rudraprayag and Kathur and Manrda villages in Tehri had also prevented the entry of vendors last month over their alleged involvement in criminal activities.

However, the police had in September forced the residents of Nyalsu village in Rudraprayag to remove the notice boards because they had mentioned “non-Hindus and Rohingya Muslims” and declared that they were not allowed entry into the village for the safety of its residents.

Pramod Singh, the panchayat chief of Nyalsu, said: “We had again put up the boards after removing the names of any community. Vendors are not allowed in our village. There have been cases when the vendors misbehaved with our women and ran away.”