When Kanta and Nanda of Randhikpur eloped with two Muslim boys -- Arif and Tiniyo -- from neighbouring Sanjeli on June 23, most people saw it as the logical culmination of their longstanding romance. The VHP, however, saw things differently; after Kanta's unemployed father lodged a kidnap complaint for both girls -- reportedly under pressure they alleged it had been an ``ISI design to kidnap Hindu girls to increase the Muslim population''.

That was enough to spark off scenes of violence and communal hatred on a level rarely witnessed even in the volatile tribal areas. Muslim families were forced to vacate their houses, fleeing to places where theywere in a majority, such as Godhra, Devgadh Baria and Limkheda. Sanjeli today is virtually devoid of Muslims; the weekly bazaar, dominated by the minority community, has been discontinued. And Randhikpur has become a den of the VHP, with others entering at their own risk.

Miles away from home, those who have fled still tremble with fear at what they have been through. ``They were about seven, drunk and menacing with their shirt-buttons undone. They hurled filthy abuses and threatened to kill us if we did not leave our house. Yeh desh tumhara nahi hai, nikal jao, we were told. We were scared, we ran away without even our belongings'', says Khatunben Mohammed Kalu.

Though now in the safety of Godhra, 70 km from home, she recounts how her 10-member family -- some are 45 km away in Devgadh Baria -- was frightened into leaving the home they shared for the past 30 years. Seventy-year-old Majidbhai was alone at home when they stormed his house. ``They abused me, pushed me around and hit me; they told me all myfamily members had left and I should follow them. I had stayed back to guard my house, my five-acre plot of land and my cattle. But I was forced to desert my home of four generations.''

That was not the end of his troubles; the Limkheda police, which controls Randhikpur, whisked away Majidbhai to the police station and kept him there for six days. ``They asked me nothing, recorded nothing, just made me to sit there, before returning me,'' he said. His son Gani and a friend, Siraj Nana Patel, were taken later and are still in custody.

``They are being beaten up in the Limkheda police station every day, asking them the whereabouts of the girls; the sub-inspector says they will take three more persons. I have seen them beating my son,'' says Majid.

Shaikh Ibrahim, who serves as a jawan for the Central Reserve Police Force in Assam, says: ``I take their tiffin twice during the day; I know the policeman beats them.''

Asked why people from Devgadh Baria were being picked up by Limkheda police and kept incustody, DSP K L N Rao said: ``I am not aware how the investigating officer is carrying out his investigation (into the kidnap complaint).''

Incidentally, Ibrahim is himself a victim of the violence; he had to leave his posting in Kokrajhar, Assam, after receiving a message that his family had run away to Deogadh Baria and later his house was burnt.

All these people left Randhikpur in sheer fright. A brave few returned, prompted by assurances from the district authorities. They soon wished they hadn't.

Fatima Adam Japla recalls: ``After the District Collector and the DSP told us it was safe to return to Randhikpur, many of us went there in a tempo. We were greeted by angry crowds, who threatened us and asked us to go back. They told us we would not be allowed to enter the town if we do not get the missing girls. The police supported the crowd, led by VHP leaders Shailesh Bhatt and Mitesh Bhatt, and advised us to leave.''

When asked whether it was safe for people to return to Randhikpur, DSP Rao said:``Yes, very safe, but they don't go because of a fear psychosis. We cannot force them to go back.'' Asked why they were being sent back by crowds despite massive police presence and assurances by the police, he said, ``They were not sent back. They went on their own.''

District Collector E.I. Kalashva says the situation is ``under control.'' Asked if people could return home to Randhikpur, he said: ``We welcome them. But they do not go.'' He says he is not aware of reports that people are being beaten up by the Limkheda police. Another thing he is not aware of is the number of families who left their homes. ``I am not sure about the figures. But maybe 15-20 families,'' he says. Incidentally, this reporter talked to as many families at Devgadh Baria and Godhra alone.

The danger associated with going to Randhikpur exists even for those who have nothing to do with the area. A photographer on assignment for The Indian Express, Bhupendra Patel, was prevented from entering the town on Sunday. He was gheraoed byat least 100 people, led by Shailesh Bhatt of the VHP. He was abused, pushed around, slapped on the face and asked to leave.Last week, a five-member team of a Gujarati newspaper, Gujarat Today, was locked up in the Randhikpur police outpost after taking video and still shots of locked and burnt houses owned by Muslims. The police seized the video-cassettes, removed the film and the identity card of the correspondent Yunus Gazi and recorded their statements.

DSP Rao confirms this incident took place, but says, ``We were just checking the credentials of these people. We will return the cassette and the video-camera bags in due course, it is with us.''

VHP national vice-president and Gujarat chief Pravin Togadia reverts to talk of a `ISI plot' and his organisation's determination to foil it. He cites 10 `kidnap' incidents in Panchmahals, Bharuch, rural Vadodara, Kheda, Sabarkantha and Surat as evidence of the plot, but says the campaign will be `democratic'.

Interestingly, officials still believe thatreturning Nanda and Kanta to their families will spell peace. Rao admitted as much, saying: ``If the girls are found, the situation will normalise. We are trying our best to find them.'' And what if the girls are not found? ``We are taking all steps.''

Govt's admission

The Government today admitted in the Lok Sabha that incidents of atrocities and crimes against Christians were on the rise in Maharashtra and Gujarat.

Minister of State for Social Welfare Maneka Gandhi said in a written reply that Gujarat, which did not report any atrocity or crime against Christians three years ago, had already recorded four incidents in 1998.