Three held for lynching 55-yr-old Muslim man in UP’s Bulandshahr

MEERUT : Suspected members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini allegedly lynched an elderly Muslim man in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr, the latest charge of vigilantism against the right-wing group founded by CM Yogi Adityanath.

Police said the suspects were enraged over a Muslim boy and a Hindu girl eloping last week and thrashed 55-year-old Gulam Mohammad on Tuesday when he was unable to divulge details of the absconding couple.

Meerut DIG ordered police to arrest the suspects immediately. The deceased man’s son lodged an FIR mentioning six unidentified Vahini men.

“Three accused have been arrested and the hunt is on for the main accused,” said Bulandshahar SP (rural) Jagdish Sharma.

Vahini has denied any involvement and blamed policemen close to the previous Samajwadi Party administration for trying to malign the group.

“If anyone was found involved, they would be expelled from the Vahini. Our leaders and activists are disciplined soldiers and they cannot be involved in this kind of violence,”said Nagendra Tomar, divisional president of the group.

Tomar blamed an Urdu TV journalist for provoking the complainant .

Local residents said the Muslim man, who eloped with a Hindu woman, worked in Saudi Arabia and came to the village on April 11 for vacations. He fell in love with the Hindu woman and eloped on April 27. Angry Hindu families in the area were allegedly mounting pressure on the four Muslim families to help trace the couple.

On Tuesday, Vahini members arrived in the village to question Muslim families and allegedly threatened them if the couple wasn’t found soon, police said. When they were walking out of the village, they saw Gulam sitting and asked him about the whereabouts of the couple.

When Gulam refused to answer, the group allegedly began thrashing the elderly man, who was rushed to hospital but died on the way.

› If anyone was found involved, they would be expelled from Vahini. Our leaders and activists are disciplined soldiers and they cannot be involved in this kind of violence. NAGENDRA TOMAR, Hindu Yuva Vahini divisional president