Gudamalani town in Barmer district remained shut on Thursday as members of the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal, among others, took out a ‘Hindu Aakrosh Rally’ claiming a case of ‘love jihad’, two days after two minors from different communities went missing, police said.
Jai Kishan Soni, Station House Officer of Gudamalani police station, said that the two went missing on May 8. “First the boy’s family approached us to lodge a missing persons report. They said that his phone was switched off and that they couldn’t find him anywhere. A couple of hours later, the girl’s family also approached us with a similar complaint,” Soni said.
Police found during investigations that the two were classmates, studying in Class XI. “While their families didn’t have any idea, their classmates said that the duo were having a love affair for more than a year. The boy’s motorcycle was also missing,” he said.
An FIR was lodged on Wednesday under IPC Sections 363 and 366 A at the police station. The girl is two months short of 18 while the boy is 16 years old.
The boy’s father and two relatives had also turned up at the girl’s home. “After their son had gone missing, they had found out about his affair and wanted to confirm if the girl is also missing. Since the girl’s father is a teacher in another school, they went there on a pretext,” the SHO said. The girl’s family later claimed that the men were there on a recce and that their daughter had been “kidnapped” as per a plan, police said.
A rally was taken out in Gudamalani by members of the RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal, among others, amid heavy police presence, while shops remained shut. “The outfits claimed it is a case of love jihad,” the SHO said.