Nainital communal clash: 30 unidentified people booked, no arrests yet
Communal tension broke out in Nainital after a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by the 60-year-old man hailing from the minority community
As many as 30 unidentified people were booked on Thursday evening for their involvement in the communal clashes that had broken out in Nainital after a minor girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by a 60-year-old man hailing from the minority community, Nainital Police said.
The first information report (FIR) was registered against the accused under sections 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (2) (mischief), 191 (2) (rioting), and 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Mallital police station.
The FIR comes on the same day when the Uttarakhand high court, while taking suo motu cognizance of the communal tension, directed the police to maintain law and order, prevent gathering of crowds and conduct checking of vehicles.
A division bench of the high court comprising senior Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari and Justice Vivek Bharti Sharma on Thursday also asked authorities to monitor the internet to check rumour-mongering.
On Wednesday, an FIR was registered against a building contractor for allegedly raping a 12-year-old girl in his car on April 12. The complaint was filed under section 65 (1) (Punishment for rape in certain cases of rape on a woman under sixteen years), 351 (2) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act at Mallital police station.
Also Read: Communal clash in Nainital over rape of minor; police say ‘situation under control’
The situation flared up after the members of the majority community came to know about the case. According to police, the majority group began to vandalise shops after knowing that the accused belonged to the minority community.
“Meanwhile, 25 to 30 unknown people vandalised various shops located near the police station, assaulted people, and blocked the road. It disrupted the peace... the officials tried to pacify the crowd. After this, the people went to their homes. During the vandalism, the crowd also broke the CCTV cameras installed in the Gaadi Padaw area,” Mallital police station in charge Hem Chandra Pant said.
“We have registered an FIR against 30 unidentified people for vandalism. No arrests have been made yet. Their identification is underway”, Pant said.
