UP man lynched by ‘saffron gang’

Bulandshahr victim’s neighbour eloped with girl of another community

A 62-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death in Bulandshahr on Tuesday by a group of six men after the victim’s young neighbour eloped with a girl from a different community a few days ago.

The deceased Ghulam Mohammad’s family accused the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a right-wing group formed by Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath years ago, for the murder. The FIR mentioned “five to six unknown suspects from Hindu Yuva Vahini”.

According to reports, Ghulam Mohammad was the neighbour of the 19year-old boy who eloped with an 18-year-old girl from an adjoining village a few days ago. The boy and the girl belonged to different religions.

The group allegedly arrived when the girl’s family complained that the police had not taken action in the matter.

On Tuesday, the attackers saw Ghulam Mohammad sitting at a mango orchard, dragged him to a deserted place and allegedly lynched him.

“Four-five men took my father away from the garden. They took him to the jungle and hit him and left him to die,” the deceased’s son said.

Three people have been arrested in connection with the murder. Senior police officer Muni Raj told reporters that the police was verifying whether the accused belong to Hindu Yuva Vahini.

“If we find the role of any organisation in the case, we will inform the government, take legal advice and then take action,” he said.

A senior police officer told reporters that the police was verifying whether the accused belong to Hindu Yuva Vahini, formed years ago by Yogi Adityanath