A 45-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death by members of a right-wing group here on Tuesday on suspicion of helping a relative elope with a girl of a different community.
The victim has been identified as Ghulam Mohammad of Sohi village.
According to Additional District Magistrate Arvind Kumar Mishra, 19-year-old Yusuf of Sohi village had allegedly eloped with a girl on April 27.
The girl belongs to a Hindu family and lives in Fazalpur village. The girl’s family had lodged a case of kidnapping against Yusuf at the Pahasu police station.
Ghulam is said to be a distant relative of Yusuf.
Suspecting that Ghulam had helped Yusuf in the entire episode, activists of a Hindu outfit reached Ghulam’s house on Tuesday afternoon, dragged him to a secluded spot and beat him to death.
The men wanted to know the whereabouts of Yusuf and the girl.
Bulandshahr SPMan Singh Chauhan said an FIR had been lodged against unknown persons.
Teams formed
“We have formed teams to nab the culprits. We have identified some suspects. We are conducting raids to nab them. After the post-mortem examination, the body will be handed over to the family. To avoid any untoward incident, we have deployed a strong police force in the area,” Mr. Chauhan said.
As the incident triggered communal tension, senior police and administration officials reached the village along with a strong police force.
Vivek Singh, the Meerut range in charge of Hindu Yuva Vahini, said allegation that members of his outfit were involved were baseless.
