More than 100 booked after interfaith relationship sparked communal clash at Dehradun railway station

The violence was the fallout of an interfaith relationship between a young man and a minor girl from Badaun in Uttar Pradesh, officials said. The girl, who belongs to a minority community, had been reported missing in Badaun and was found by the Government Railway Police (GRP), which called in the Dehradun Police.

The minor girl has now been sent back home to her family, said police. The man has been let off without charge.

According to the FIR, members of two communities, led by Qureshi and Verma, gathered at the railway station after learning that the couple were present there. The confrontation soon escalated, with objects being hurled and damage caused to parked vehicles.

“We warned both sides to stop, but some miscreants began damaging parked two-wheelers near the parcel house and attempted to set them on fire. Even a government SUV from the Patel Nagar police station was damaged in the commotion,” stated the FIR, based on a complaint by a Dehradun SHO.

Soon, reinforcements were sent from nearby police stations to help bring the situation under control, the FIR said, adding that at least eight two-wheelers and one police vehicle were vandalised.

Qureshi claimed the girl was a minor and that his group wanted her sent to her family back in Badaun. “But Hindu outfits claimed that the girl was not a minor and instead of going back to her family, she should be allowed to do ‘ghar wapsi’ and started raising slogans. Soon many Muslims too gathered there,” he claimed.

Qureshi claimed that the situation turned violent when someone was spotted making a video .

“The Hindu side saw a person making their videos, and thinking it was one of us, they started manhandling him. The Muslims also thought they were beating one of us, and the situation turned violent. Soon stone pelting started, followed by vandalism,” he said.

Anshul Dora, a Bajrang Dal member, said that they only wanted the man to be released by the police as he was not at fault and said that the girl came to Dehradun on her own. “The Muslims present at the spot were demanding that he should be punished,” said Dora.

Another Bajrang Dal leader, Ashish Baluni, told The Indian Express that they had no problem with the girl going back to her family, but wanted to make sure that the man was released and rescued.

The FIR was registered against the named and identified accused under section 7 (molesting a person to prejudice of employment or business) of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act and sections 191 (2) (rioting), 221 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 223 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 324 (4) (mischief causing damage to the amount of twenty thousand rupees and more but less than one lakh rupees) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS).