Muslim community in Nainital expels rape accused, pledges help to survivor
PIONEER NEWS SERVICE/ Nainital
In a significant gesture meant to strengthen communal harmony and mitigate the collective anger in the aftermath of the alleged rape of a 12-year-old girl by 73-year-old Mohammad Usman, the prominent members of the minority community have taken stern actions against the accused- expelling Usman from the community while empathising with the survivor and pledging to bear her medical and educational expenses. Also, they demanded a full-fledged probe into the alleged rape case and exemplary punishment for the guilty at the earliest. Notably, Usman, a Class D contractor with the PWD, had been arrested last week after the minor narrated her ordeal to her parents.
Announcing the steps, the president of the Jamia Islamia Committee, Shoaib Ahmad said that they had decided to totally boycott the accused. “No member of the community will invite him in any religious or social functions. We are solidly standing with the survivor,” he said.
Meanwhile, the alleged rape and consequent riots have cast their shadow on tourism in the famed lake town with those associated with it remaining deeply worried. The tourist season in Nainital happens to be at its peak from April to June. Hotel operators say that after this incident, bookings were being continuously cancelled and if this trend continued, they would incur heavy losses. Some hotel owners even said that they have been facing a decline of 80 to 90 percent in their income this season.
