Six BJP youth wing leaders booked for assault, arson

Aligarh, Sep 17: Six

Yuva Morcha leaders along with 40 party activists have been booked for allegedly assaulting a 24-year-old man, who intended to marry a girl from a different community, police said here today.

The incident took place yesterday evening, when the six persons and 40 other unnamed activists of the party's youth wing allegedly attacked the man, at Nauranganad locality in Gandhi Park area, police said. The man, who belonged to a minority community had come to meet her woman friend and her parents apparently over marriage plan, and the party workers took it as a case of 'love jihad', after which he was allegedly assaulted and his motorcycle was also set afire, according to police.

They (workers) were, however, informed by the girl and her family that the two "lovers" intended to get married and they that they were fully aware of the identity of youth for the past four years, police said. An FIR has been lodged against six leaders -- Manoj Sharma, Lalitesh Lodhi, Rajat Thakur, Aman Gupta, Yatin Dixit, K K Goswami and 40 unnamed activists, police said.

PTI