Prime accused in Bulandshahr 'love jihad' lynching case arrested

The Bulandshahr Police on Monday arrested the main accused in the case wherein a 60-year-old man was lynched for helping a couple elope. The accused has been identified as Gavendra, a resident of Sohi village in district Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

Gulam Ahmad, 60, was beaten to death in Sohi village under the Pahasu police station area on April 27, after being accused of helping a 19-year-old Muslim boy, Yusuf, to elope with a Hindu girl.

During sustained interrogation, Gavendra told the police that he knew that Yusuf, a resident of the same village, was "luring" a Hindu girl. Then the couple managed to elope.

Gavendra told the police that he could not accept this and decided to teach Yusuf a lesson. He gathered support of local members of Hindu Yuva Vahini and raided Yusuf's house but did not find anyone there. During this "search operation", Gavendra and others noticed Gulam Ahmad, a distant relative of Yusuf.

The accused then took Ahmad to a mango orchard, where they beat him to death and then fled from the spot.

Meanwhile, the girl's family had lodged an FIR against Yusuf for kidnapping. The police later located the girl in Palwal of Haryana. In her statement, she accused Yusuf of kidnapping and raping her. She was later produced in the court, where she reiterated her charges.

"The police have arrested Yusuf and sent him to jail. Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been added to the matter. The police will soon file a chargesheet against Yusuf," police station in-charge Rakesh Sharma said.