Mob attacks couple in Hapur

The couple were living in a rented accommodation at Devlok Colony in Hapur. “On Sunday morning, the girl’s parents had reached Hapur to meet them. A few minutes later, several locals barged into the house and attempted to assault Shoaib,” said the SHO.

Written by Manish Sahu | Lucknow | Published:September 25, 2017 7:25 am
Hapur, Mob mentality, couple, Lucknow, UP News, India News, Indian Express (Source: Google Maps)

A mob on Sunday forcibly entered and attempted to assault a couple in Hapur district. What allegedly sparked their anger was that 25-year-old Shoaib had married 24-year-old Vidhya Bharti Srivastava last month.

Shoaib has been running a local computer centre since the last six years. Vidhya was his neighbour in their hometown of Sitamani district in Bihar.
“Last month, Shoaib came to Hapur along with Vidhya and she converted to Islam. On August 28, both got married in court. The girl was in regular touch with her family and they did not file any complaint with the police when she had left home either,” said Samarjeet Singh, Station House Officer, City Kotwali police station.

The couple were living in a rented accommodation at Devlok Colony in Hapur. “On Sunday morning, the girl’s parents had reached Hapur to meet them. A few minutes later, several locals barged into the house and attempted to assault Shoaib,” said the SHO. The police rushed to the spot when they heard of the matter and used some force to disperse the attackers.

“We decided to take the couple to the police station. When the couple were sitting in our jeep, a group of people arrived and attempted them to pull them out. They demanded that the girl convert back to Hinduism,” said SHO Singh.

This is when police used “mild force” once again to disperse the group in which some BJP workers were present and were allegedly injured.  It led to strong condemnation from local BJP MLA Vijay Pal who protested outside the residence of the local Superintendent of Police (SP) Hemant Kutiyal. He demanded action against SHO Singh and Circle Officer Pawan Kumar. The protest was lifted after the SP assured to look into the matter. “In the police lathicharge, four BJP workers, including a woman, were injured. The protest was withdrawn after SP assured of action against the policemen,” said MLA Pal.

“No one suffered any injury in the incident. Protesters are mostly local residents,” said SP Kutiyal adding no FIR has been lodged in the matter.