Uttarakhand’s Purola gradually returning to normal

Uttarkashi: Around half a dozen shops closed for over a fortnight following communal tension in Purola reopened on Saturday in an indication of peace gradually returning to the hill town.

The shops are owned by Muslims who had shut them out of a sense of insecurity after tension broke out in the town following a foiled alleged attempt by two men including one from the minority community to abduct a minor girl.

Four barber shops and two garment stores have been opened in the town amid police protection, Purola Station House Officer (SHO) Khajan Singh Chauhan said.

However, some shops belonging to Muslims in Purola are still closed.

Normalcy began to return to the town with the lifting of prohibitory orders on Friday, two days after a proposed Mahapanchayat by local trade bodies and Hindutva outfits in protest against alleged “love jihad” incidents was withdrawn.

Vyapar Mandal president Brijmohan Chauhan said the trade body never asked anyone to shut their shop.

“Some members of the Vyapar Mandal are expelled. A decision on their re-induction will be taken after a meeting of the body,” Chauhan added.