Agra mob sets ablaze houses after Muslim man, Hindu woman 'elope'

An angry mob on Friday set ablaze two houses belonging to the family of a man who had disappeared with a school student, said to be an adult in an interfaith relationship.

Police said members of “Dharam Jagran Samanvay Sangh” torched the house belonging to Sajid, a gym owner, in the city’s Runakta locality. An adjoining house, belonging to the family, was also set on fire.

The mob was demanding the arrest of the man they accused of kidnapping the woman, who police say is 22 years old. Shops in the local Runakta market also downed shutters over the demand.

There were no reports of any injuries in the attack on the gym owner’s home.

The police post in-charge was suspended after the incident for negligence and a probe ordered against the Sikandra station house officer.

“If found guilty, action will be taken against him as well," Agra’s Senior Superintendent of Police Sudheer Kumar Singh told reporters.

The girl, who is a class 11 student, went missing on Monday. She was traced two days later by police, but Sajid’s whereabouts were not known.

Her family members had lodged a missing person’s report, prompting a police search for the couple.

But in a video that surfaced on social media, the woman said she is an adult and had gone willingly with the man.

“Both are adults,” SSP Singh told reporters. He said police will produce the woman in court. This couldn’t be done so far because of the holidays.

He said an FIR has been registered against members of the group that set the houses on fire and they will be arrested soon.

The woman’s family has also lodged a police complaint against the gym owner.

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