Bulandshahr Man Lynched: Hindu-Muslim Couple Found

The lynching victim had allegedly helped his 19-year-old Muslim relative elope with an 18-year-old Hindu girl.

A file photo of Hindu Yuva Vahini vigilante members taking part in a rally in Unnao in April 2017. The body was founded in 2002 by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. (Photo: Reuters)

The police on Wednesday night detained the Hindu-Muslim couple who had allegedly eloped on 27 April – an incident that led to the lynching of the 45-year-old Ghulam Mohammad in Bulandshahr, UP, for his suspected role in the elopement.

On Tuesday, an FIR had been filed against six members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini in connection with the murder. The police had also arrested three people in the case, reported ANI.

Ghulam allegedly helped his distant relative, a 19-year-old Yusuf, elope with an 18-year-old Hindu girl, who was the daughter of a local BJP worker.

Ghulam's family had claimed that the members of the Hindu Yuva Vahini were involved in his murder.

After detaining the couple, Jagdish Sharma, SP Bulandshahr (Rural), said that the two had moved to a village in Ballabhgarh district of Haryana to live with Yusuf’s relative. He added that that the two would be taken to a magistrate in the same district.

Earlier, Bulandshahr police had underlined the efforts to apprehend the culprits:

We have formed teams to nab the culprits. We have identified some suspects. We are conducting raids to nab them.

Man Singh Chauhan, SP, Bulandshahr to <i><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/youth-elopes-with-girl-relative-beaten-to-death/article18366256.ece">The Hindu</a></i>

After the couple disappeared, the girl's family had filed a case of kidnapping against Yusuf, but Ghulam was suspected to have played a role in the elopement, for which he was lynched by the mob.

The Hindu Yuva Vahini is a youth group founded by the current Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, in 2002, on the day of Ram Navmi.

Adityanath had reportedly appealed to the members of the body to “behave with decency”, at a closed door meeting with the members in Gorakhpur.

(With inputs from PTI)