More articles by

Ajay Uprety
Ajay Uprety

Uttar Pradesh

Elopement causes violence in UP village, Muslim families forced to flee

burglary-crime (File photo) Representational image

In Nandrauli, a nondescript village in Sambhal district of Uttar Pradesh, Muslim families are living in fear. There was an attack on the community on May 11, forcing over 30 Muslim families to flee the village.

The clashes began when a 20-year-old Hindu girl, belonging to Yadav community, eloped with a Muslim boy, identified as Babloo Saifi, on May 9. After the incident, a panchyat was held in the Hindu dominated village and the family of the boy was forced to find the couple. When they failed to do so, the family members of the girl, along with other villagers, attacked members of Muslim community and vandalised their homes.

People belonging to both the communities sustained injuries in the large-scale violence that broke out. The police have arrested 11 people from both the communities in connection with the incident.

Villagers, who refused to be named, said the couple were in love, but the parents of the girl forced her to marry another person from a nearby village in November 2016. However, when the girl came to visit her parents in May, she met her lover and they decided to elope.

The father of the girl, Ramdeen Yadav, refused to comment.

Over 30 Muslim families fled the village after the violence. Some of them have returned to the village after five days.

Nandrauli has a population of around 3,000 of which 70 per cent are Hindus. To prevent any untoward incidents, the district administration has beefed up security in the village.

Mohammed Shakeel, whose family was attacked, confirmed that Muslims fled the village after the violence.

Meanwhile, SDM Akhilesh Yadav said the local administration is providing full security to the villagers and is finding out that how many families have left the village. Efforts are on to bring them back, he added.

Village headman Pramod Kumar confirmed that nine Muslim families left the village fearing further violence. Senior police officials held meetings with villagers to bring the situation under control.

Sambhal SP Ravi Shankar Chhabi said according to available information, five families fled the village.

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Topics : #Uttar Pradesh

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