A mob burnt down a Muslim man’s home on Friday in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra city after he eloped with a Hindu woman, PTI reported. The woman has said that she had left home on her own will.
Members of a Hindutva group Dharam Jagran Samanvay Sangh torched the home of Sajid, a gym owner in the city’s Runakta locality. The adjoining house, which also belonged to his family was also set on fire, police told the news agency.
However, according to a Times of India report, three houses – those of Sajid, his brother Mujahid and his uncle Raees – were set ablaze.
The mob also forcefully closed down shops in the locality alleging that Sajid had kidnapped the 22-year-old woman.
However, in a video shared on social media, the woman could be seen saying that she had married Sajid on her own will. The woman said she did not want to go back to her home as she feared that her family could kill her. The family had earlier tried to poison her, the woman said in the video.
“I request everyone not to harass my family or his [Sajid],” the woman said. “I will stay under police protection and give my statement before the court.”
The woman went missing on Monday and was traced by the police on Wednesday. However, Sajid has still not been tracked down. The woman’s family had filed a missing person’s report, PTI reported. Her family has also filed a police complaint against Sajid under Section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing a woman to compel her to marriage) of the Indian Penal Code, the Hindustan Times reported.
Agra Senior Superintendent of Police Sudheer Kumar Singh also told PTI that the woman had said that she left home of her own volition and will testify in a court. Singh said that both the woman and Sajid were adults.
The local police post in-charge has been suspended for negligence, and an investigation has been ordered against the Sikandra station house officer, Singh addded.
In a first information report, 20 persons and 200 people who were part of the mob, have been charged with arson, reported the Hindustan Times.
“Those arrested belong to different right-wing organisations, including Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad and Dharam Jagran Samanvyaya Sangh,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (Hariparvat Circle) Satya Narain.
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