Bareilly: An interfaith couple was brutally assaulted by a group of Hindus who accused them of being involved in "love jihad."
The incident unfolded on a Saturday evening when a man in his early 30s and his female friend, aged 28, went to a temple in search of the friend's missing sister. The temple premises bore a signboard reading "Muslims not allowed," setting the stage for a troubling encounter.
A viral video captured the ordeal, as a few self-proclaimed vigilantes confronted the couple, alleging they were engaged in "love jihad" despite the victims' pleas that they were just friends. The couple lives in the same neighbourhood as the temple.
Local law enforcement detained four individuals initially, who were later released after being booked under section 151 of the CrPC. The man from the minority community was also released after about three hours of detention.
The Superintendent of Police (city), Rahul Bhati, confirmed the incident and stated that a non-cognizable report had been registered against two identified and several unidentified persons for assaulting the couple, citing IPC section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).
Further investigation led to the arrest of four individuals—Aman Saxena, Himanshu Tandon, Harsh Srivastava, and Uday Kumar—after scrutiny of the viral video. Authorities are actively working to identify and apprehend other individuals involved in the attack.