The camp is alleged to be part of an effort to train cadres to combat “love jihad”.

Guwahati:

After a video of an arms training camp organised by the right-wing group Rashtriya Bajrang Dal in Assam went viral on social media, the police today said that they have initiated a probe into the case.

A video has emerged showing 350 young men being trained in the use of firearms, martial arts, and survival skills. The camp is alleged to be part of an effort to train cadres to combat “love jihad,” a term used by right-wing groups to allege that Muslim men “lure” Hindu women to convert through marriage.

“Reference Mangaldai video – SP @Darrang_Police has been instructed to register a case under appropriate sections of law & investigate the matter and take lawful action. @assampolice @CMOfficeAssam,” tweeted senior Assam police officer GP Singh.

Reference Mangaldai video – SP @Darrang_Police has been instructed to regsiter a case under appropriate sections of law & investigate the matter and take lawful action. @assampolice@CMOfficeAssam

— GP Singh (@gpsinghips) July 31, 2023

Opposition parties have also written to Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, demanding that the organisers of the camp be arrested.

Chief Minister Sarma, who has been a vocal critic of “love jihad,” said that he wants peaceful coexistence between Hindus and Muslims in the state. However, he also acknowledged that “issues like jihad and forceful religious conversions create tensions.”

“Besides, an act will be implemented soon in the state through which the marriageable age will be legally fixed for all communities, multiple marriages will be stopped and more legislative steps will be taken so that when arrests are made for violating the norms, the accused do not get bail,” Mr Sarma said on Saturday, as quoted by news agency PTI.

The Chief Minister’s remarks were made against the backdrop of the sensational triple murder in Golaghat, where a 25-year-old Muslim man killed his Hindu wife and her parents.