Days after protests erupted in the Purola region of Uttarkashi against a love jihad case, several Hindu rights organisations staged a protest on Wednesday, June 7, against another similar case wherein two Muslim youths attempted to elope with a minor Hindu girl in Gauchar town in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. The Hindu activists protested outside the Gauchar police station demanding action against the Muslim youths.
Reportedly, in Gauchar two Muslim youths who have been identified as Gulzar alias Nitin (26) and Aslam (21) lured a 15-year-old Hindu girl and took her to a hotel on Tuesday, June 6. They told the hotel staff that the girl is the daughter of their maternal aunt. However, the hotel owner grew suspicious and informed the police about it. Meanwhile, one of the accused escaped along with the minor girl.
The other youth Aslam, a resident of Dharampura Sardhana in the Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, was caught by the Bajrang Dal activists and locals. Upon questioning Aslam revealed the name of his accomplice Gulzar, who originally hails from Meerut and works as a JCB operator in Rudraprayag. Aslam also said that the girl is a minor and a resident of a village in Rudraprayag. Eventually, both the accused persons were arrested by the Karnprayag police. Accused Gulzar told the police that he got married eight months ago, while he also talked to the minor girl over the phone.
On Wednesday, the minor girl’s father lodged a complaint against Aslam and Gulzar. It has been reported that accused Gulzar had an Instagram account with the name “Nitin Mahakal”.
Meanwhile, Pramendra Dobhal, superintendent of police (SP) Chamoli said, “Police received information about two men attempting to elope with a minor girl. This sparked outrage among the locals. Both of the men have been arrested. They have been booked under Section 8 of the Pocso Act and Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and have been placed in judicial custody. The accused are from Sardhana, Meerut. One of the men had lived in the area for the past 7-8 years, working as a JCB operator in Rudraprayag.”
Uttarkashi Superintendent of Police Arpan Yaduvanshi said that as a measure of precaution, a platoon of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) was stationed in the town.
The locals were agitated as several similar cases of love jihad have emerged in Uttarakhand. Meanwhile, the police have appealed to people not to pay heed to any sort of rumours.
Speaking to the media, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dham addressed the issue of love jihad and said that his government is strict against such cases. He added that the police have been directed to conduct an investigation and take stringent action against the perpetrators.