The Himachal Pradesh High Court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Rajiv Bindal and Paonta Sahib MLA Sukhram Chaudhary in a case related to the June 13 violence in Majra area of Sirmaur district, where more than ten people, including police personnel, were injured during stone-pelting clashes.
Justice Virender Singh directed the police not to take any coercive action against the two BJP leaders until the next date of hearing, which has been scheduled for June 24. The FIR against them includes charges of attempt to murder under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and unlawful assembly.
The case arises from an incident triggered by the alleged elopement of an 18-year-old Hindu girl with a 19-year-old Muslim boy from Kiratpur village. Protests by Hindu organisations escalated into violence on June 13 when a crowd armed with sticks and sharp weapons marched towards the boy’s residence. The situation soon turned volatile, leading to stone-pelting between two groups and injuries to civilians and police alike. Sirmaur police subsequently arrested four individuals and imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of BNSS in four villages — Kiratpur, Malion, Fatehpur, and Missarwala — effective until June 19.
Rajiv Bindal and Sukhram Chaudhary moved the High Court seeking protection, claiming the FIR was a politically motivated act by the ruling government to suppress dissent. “Instead of acting against the culprits, the administration is targeting Hindu families and creating an atmosphere of fear,” Bindal alleged.
The controversy took a turn after a video surfaced on June 12, in which the girl stated she had willingly gone with the boy and requested the police not to act against him. She was located on June 14, and her statement reportedly contradicts the abduction charge lodged by her family.
In response to the interim relief, Industries Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan criticized the BJP for politicizing the issue. He asserted that law must take its course and urged all political and social entities to avoid giving communal colour to such sensitive incidents.
