Delhi: Residents of Harijan Basti attacked by mob
Some residents of the Harijan Basti in Delhi were allegedly attacked by a mob after a 22-year-old man of the locality married a woman from another community, police said on Sunday. Police personnel have been deployed in the southeast Delhi locality to thwart any untoward incident.
On Saturday night, 15 to 20 men entered the locality and, according to CCTV camera footage shared on social media, they broke flower pots, threw stones on houses, damaged vehicles, and tried to break into houses, police said.
Three to four residents suffered minor injuries after they were allegedly attacked, they said.
Police said that the woman's family members were against her relationship with the man, and angry about she getting married to him.
Following the incident, four men, including the woman's brother, have been arrested, they said, adding that on Saturday night, the man, his wife and his family members were not present at Harijan Basti.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) R P Meena said, "Senior officers visited the spot and found that the woman had married against her parents wishes. The woman's family members were involved in the incident."
Though police personnel have been deployed at the locality, residents alleged that they still felt unsafe as members of the mob were still at large.
The couple got married on March 16 and a missing person report was filed by the woman's family at the Sunlight Colony police station on Saturday, police said.
The man and the woman were called to the police station. The woman had given her consent to the wedding and after verification of documents and details, they were allowed to leave, a police officer said.
"We also interacted with families of both the parties. But the woman's brother was upset with the wedding. On Saturday night, he along with others went to the man's locality and created a ruckus. But the man's family nor he and his wife were there," he said.
The man's mother told reporters that the woman's family members had threatened them of dire consequences.
"My son married a girl from another community. They (woman's family members) were against their relationship. They abused us and said they will not allow us to stay here. We were called to the police station on Saturday," she said.
She said that her daughter-in-law was happy with the marriage. "However, after we returned from the police station, we got to know that they had vandalised property at Harijan Basti. We are all scared as they have threatened us of dire consequences," she alleged.
Satbir, a resident of the locality, told reporters that he was inside his house when around 10.45 pm on Saturday, several men entered the area.
"They even damaged vehicles. They banged on the doors in an attempt to break them. They carried lathis and even attacked a few people from our locality.We are scared and need police protection," he said.
Another resident said she was standing outside her house when the mob tried to attack her children.
She alleged that her daughter was with her and the men tried to grab her.
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