Uttar Pradesh: House sale to Muslim sparks protest in posh Moradabad society

A protest broke out in Moradabad's TDI City housing society late on Tuesday night after a house in the Hindu majority colony was sold to a Muslim doctor, TOI reported.

Residents from the society, which houses 450 Hindu families, demanded the cancellation of the registration, saying they "feared the sale could lead to demographic changes and spark a trend of Hindu families leaving their apartments".



The house is located in the upmarket colony on Kanth Road. it was sold by Dr Ashok Bajaj to Dr Ikra Chaudhary. Protesters alleged that Bajaj had not informed anyone about the sale and that the transaction "violated the social harmony" of the gated society, which allegedly "had no Muslim families before".

One of the protesters, Payal Rastogi, told TOI, "Bajaj sold his house to a non-Hindu without giving any information to us. We live here peacefully and there was never any issue before. Now we just want Bajaj to get the registry cancelled. We have already lodged a complaint with the district administration and local police."

Pallavi, a resident, added, "We have no enmity with any community. We just don't want the system to change. This has been our home for over 15 years, and we feel it's important that the house is registered in the name of a Hindu again. Otherwise, Hindus might start leaving, and everything will change."


Further, another woman said, "fears that similar incidents in other areas had led to Hindus moving away". One of them said, "If one house is sold, others might follow, and soon the area could lose its character."

Moradabad district magistrate Anuj Kumar Singh said that a complaint was received. "We are aware of the situation and are working to resolve the matter peacefully. The administration and police are in talks with both parties to ensure communal harmony is maintained," he said. Neither Bajaj nor Chaudhary could be reached for comment at the time of reporting.