Following accusations that a man abducted a minor from another community in Uttarakhand’s Haridwar district, a group of 100 “unidentified people” on Sunday engaged in vandalism and pelted stones, police said.
According to the FIR registered at Laksar police station against unknown individuals, a 15-year-old girl was abducted from Badi Teep village. A search is underway, police said.
While the police investigation was underway, at 10.40 am on Sunday, a mob of around 100 unidentified persons entered the house of the person suspected of having abducted the girl, vandalised it and pelted stones, according to the FIR registered on the basis of the complaint of sub-inspector Narendra Singh.
“The police and PAC personnel intervened and dispersed them from the premises. However, the mob continued pelting stones in the open street,” the FIR said.
The officer said that despite repeated attempts by the police to pacify the crowd and instruct them to return home, the mob became increasingly aggressive.
“Given the high likelihood of disturbance to public peace, the police force dispersed the gathered mob. Had this not been done, the crowd could have mobilised in an organised manner, leading to a major law and order issue,” the FIR states. The FIR was registered against unknown persons under sections 190, 191(2), 191(3), and 221 of BNS.
SP(Rural) Shekhar Chand Suyal told The Indian Express, “The rioting started after Bajrang Dal (members) pelted stones at another community and the latter retaliated. We did not have adequate force and sent more officials before the situation was controlled. We have yet to identify the accused persons, but we are checking footage and collecting evidence from witnesses at the spot.”
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Haridwar police said in a statement that a case was registered against those who incited religious hatred and engaged in stone-pelting and that the accused were being identified based on video footage.
Police and PAC are deployed in the area for security reasons, the statement said.
“Police teams have intensified efforts to locate the abducted minor, conducting searches and checks at railway stations, bus stations, and major routes connecting nearby villages. CCTV footage from all possible locations has been examined with the help of technical teams, and based on crucial leads, Laksar and Haridwar police are continuing their investigation from various angles. An FSL team has collected forensic and digital evidence from the site, and multiple suspects have been interrogated to aid in the minor’s recovery,” the police statement said.
