Days after a Muslim youth was attacked by an angry mob after he was found roaming with a Hindu girl near a temple in Uttarakhand's Nainital district, BJP MLA Rajkumar Thukral dubbed the incident as an attempt to destroy "Hindu culture".
Thukral also warned that the right-wing outfits will fight the "destroyers of the culture".
The incident took place on Tuesday (May 22), when members of right-wing outfits, including a few people from the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) spotted a 23-year-old man Irfan with a 19-year-old Hindu girl near Garjia Devi temple located 15 km from Ramnagar.
The locals even alleged that they found the duo in a compromising position after which they started thrashing the man, Hindustan Times reported. On being alerted about the incident, Gagandeep Singh sub-inspector of police of Ramnagar, rushed to the spot.
Singh and his team tried to disperse the crowd but failed. The police officer not only shielded Irfan from the mob, but also safely escorted him amid a sea of angry people. The cop also received a few blows while trying to save the youth.
Singh's colleagues were soon able to pacify and disperse the mob. Later, the Muslim youth and the girl were taken to the police station before being sent home.
After a video of the sub-inspector's brave act went viral on social media, he was hailed as a hero by the people of Uttarakhand. He was also rewarded by the Uttarakhand police.
India: A courageous Sikh police officer saves a Muslim man from being lynched by a mob of fanatic goons in Dehradun citypic.twitter.com/Mc1GC8DumI
— Harjinder Singh Kukreja (@SinghLions) May 25, 2018
However, the fact that the Muslim man was found with a Hindu girl near a temple did not go down wel with the BJP. "It is time to teach a lesson to the people who want to destroy the atmosphere of Ramnagar. If (Ramnagar) police and the administration does not wake up then the Hindu Sena (army) will have to come out and fight the people who wish to destroy Hindu culture," The Indian Express quoted Thukral as saying.
He also described it as an attempt of forced religious conversion.
"Why were they roaming (in the temple premises) with a Hindu girl? They tried to ignite the emotions of the Hindu community. We will fight the ongoing plans of destroying Hindu culture, of forced religious conversions, and of strengthening the roots of love jihad," Thukral added.
Meanwhile, a Station House Office (SHO) of the Ramnagar police station, Vikram Rathod said on Sunday that none of Irfan's assaulters have been arrested as the cops have not yet identified the culprits, reported TIE.
Earlier a Hindustan Times had given a slightly different version about the culprits, "Five of the attackers who are clearly visible in the video have been identified by the police and have been booked under relevant sections," additional director general of police (law and order), Ashok Kumar had been quoted as saying by the HT.
