UP: Communal Tensions Flare In Bareilly Village After Man’s House Vandalised, Set Afire Over Interfaith Elopement

Angry locals in a village of Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh vandalised and torched the house of a Muslim youth, Saddam, for eloping with Sanjana, a girl belonging to the Hindu community.

Communal tensions flared up in a village of Bareilly district in Uttar Pradesh after a group of villagers allegedly vandalised and torched the house of a Muslim man for eloping with a woman belonging to the Hindu community.

According to the police, an angry mob of locals in Chandupura Shivnagar village in Sirauli area of Bareilly, stormed the house of 21-year-old Saddam on Friday night, 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 which took place on Friday night, they said, adding that three police officers, including the SHO of Sirauli police station, have been suspended or alleged negligence in connection with the incident.

According to local 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 there daughter had been kidnapped.

Mob sets man’s house on fire for eloping with woman from different religion in UP’s Bareilly
Two FIRs have been registered and a few perpetrators have been detained.
Another attempt to ignite communal violence in Bareilly
https://t.co/pWKQb0r5ai#Violence pic.twitter.com/fpWPIPdlcv

— Kanwardeep singh (@KanwardeepsTOI) August 3, 2024

Giving details, a senior officer said that on July 29, the 20-year-old daughter of Maiku Lal and 21-year-old Saddam were reported missing in Chandupura Shivnagar. They were found by the police on August 1.

“On the request of the woman’s father and the villagers, she was handed over to her family, and Lal submitted in writing that he did not want to lodge any complaint against the youth,” said Bareilly Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya.

He said the girl was handed over to her family while Saddam was detained for questioning. However, despite police action in the case, miscreants allegedly broke into Saddam’s house at around 11 PM on Friday night, vandalised it and set it on fire.

“They also attacked the police team who reached the spot on information about the incident,” the SSP said, adding that cross FIRs have been filed from both sides in the case.

The SSP also said that SHO of Sirauli police station Luv Sirohi, Sub-inspector Satyaveer Singh and a constable were suspended on Saturday morning over negligence in the matter and not registering an FIR.

He said that the situation in Chandupura Shivnagar is now normal and police force has been deployed to maintain peace.

(With PTI inputs)