A 50-year-old man was allegedly beaten to death during a violent clash between two families in Shahjahanpur’s Katra area in Uttar Pradesh late on Sunday night following a dispute over a minor’s alleged elopement with a youth from the neighbourhood, police said.
His family later recovered the girl and handed her over to the police, who sent her to a women’s shelter. Police have registered a case under Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deals with culpable homicide, along with provisions relating to assault and abuse. The deceased, Ramesh, was the uncle of Ranjit who was accused of taking the girl away on October 3. Govind alleged that girl’s family had attacked three of his brothers on October 15.
Five people, including two women, have been detained in connection with the incident, superintendent of police (rural) Diksha Bhavre said. The two families had been at loggerheads since the incident, according to the police. Govind said the girl’s family subsequently lodged an FIR against seven or eight people. During the recording of her statement, the girl reportedly told the authorities that she had gone with the youth of her own free will. He said the family submitted a complaint at local police station but no action was taken.
Nine people from both sides were injured in the incident, videos of which surfaced on Monday. Videos of the incident that went viral on Monday purportedly showed members of both groups fighting and throwing stones at each other.
He claimed that his family had approached the girl’s relatives and asked them to counsel her. However, the girl’s family allegedly did not pay heed to their concerns.
Ranjit’s relationship with the girl had begun around six months ago, according to Ramesh’s brother Govind.
