Paonta abduction case: Girl says had willingly gone with youth; MLA, former MLA booked

In a twist to the case of alleged abduction of a girl belonging to the majority community in Praduni village of Paonta Sahib, she issued a statement on Monday, saying that she had willingly gone with the youth, belonging to the minority community, as he was her friend.

The girl, 18, had fled with her 19-year old friend on June 4. Her family had registered a missing report the next day and an abduction case was filed on June 9. Her kin blamed the youth, a resident of Kiratpur, for his involvement in her alleged abduction. She was, however, found on June 14 at Saha in Ambala.

Contrary to a petition cited by BJP state president Rajeev Bindal, who claimed that the duo had filed a plea in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on June 4, demanding protection as they had married against the wishes of the girl’s family, she said they had not got married. The petition was rejected. The girl was sent back with her family members today after she was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate. She was earlier reluctant to re-join her family, said Sirmaur SP Nishchint Negi.

The police continued to post a posse of force around the houses of the couple at Kiratpur and Praduni villages in a bid to avert any further communal flare up after an unsavoury riot had left three policemen and several other people injured.

In another development in the case, Paonta Sahib MLA Sukhram Chawdhary and former Nahan MLA are among several persons booked in an FIR registered by the police on the evening of June 13 for deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings, assault against public servant, unlawful assembly, rioting, armed with deadly weapon, criminal intimidation and voluntarily causing hurt after they led a group armed with cudgels and sharp edged weapons to Kiratpur.

A subsequent stone pelting and free for all that ensued between the two communities left three policemen grievously injured. They comprise assistant Sub-Inspector Ashish and Head Constable Sandeep whose service cap served as a shield after he was attacked by a sharp edged weapon.

Meanwhile, Bindal termed the registration of the FIR as political vendetta, alleging that the authorities sided with the minority community while failing to address the grievances of the majority community whose women had braved an attack from the policeman and had been injured. He also claimed that the youth had illegally married the girl without completion of her process to change her religion. He also claimed the 19-year old youth could not be married as he was a minor and the police had not acted against this illegality.

SP Nishchint Negi, however, refuted the claim and said five FIRs had been registered in the case, including two registered as cross cases by both the communities where they had alleged rioting and assault. He said the police had acted fairly and he had himself visited the area on Sunday to restore the confidence of both the parties while addressing their concerns and ensuring their safety.

Himachal Tribune