Communal tensions flared up in a village in Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh after a group of villagers allegedly vandalized and torched the house of a Muslim man for eloping with a woman belonging to the Hindu community. An FIR under the BNS section of abduction was registered against the man following a complaint by the woman’s father.
According to media reports, the incident was a fallout of an interfaith love affair between a Muslim youth, Saddam (21), and a Hindu girl, Sanjana (20), who had eloped from the village on July 27, but were later traced by the police in Jaipur and brought back following a complaint by the girl’s family claiming that their daughter had been kidnapped.
According to the police, an angry mob of locals in Chandapura Shivnagar village in the Sirauli area of Bareilly stormed the house of Saddam on August 2 at around 11 PM, ransacked the place, and set it on fire, accusing the Muslim man of “kidnapping” the Hindu woman.
“The irate villagers also attacked police personnel and damaged a police vehicle after cops reached the spot to quell the violence that took place on Friday night”, the police said.
The three policemen, including the station house officer of the Sirohi police station have been suspended for alleged negligence in connection with the incident, Indian Express reported.
The couple was traced by the police and brought back to Sirauli on August 1. While the woman was handed over to her relatives in the presence of other villagers, Ali was lodged at Sirauli police station for interrogation.
According to the Indian Express report, the family members of the woman and local villagers alleged that the police were shielding Ali.
“Ali was in police custody but rumors spread that the police were shielding him. The villagers burnt the house, shop and also attacked the policemen . The FIR has been registered at Sirauli police station in connection with the attack on the police officers and also for setting the house ablaze,” said a police official.
In connection with the matter, the police have booked 62 people, including the girl’s family members, and detained one for arson at Ali’s house, the Bareilly police said, adding that raids are being conducted to nab the accused.
Investigators said that the next day after the woman returned home, the assailants, including her relatives, stormed into the house around 10 pm on Friday, ransacked the household articles, hurled them on the road and set the items on fire. They had also damaged the nearby grocery store run by Ali and his family.
“In connection with the damage to Ali’s house, a First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged against 22 identified people, including the girl’s family members, and 40 unidentified people. No arrests have been made in the case so far,” said Circle Officer Arun Kumar Singh, as quoted in the Indian Express report.
The situation in Chandapura Shivnagar is now normal and a police force has been deployed to maintain peace, located around 55 kilometers from Bareilly headquarters.
