Dehradun railway station 'inter-faith couple' clash: Girl says ‘will wait to turn 18, marry my friend’

DEHRADUN/BAREILLY: After authorities intervened and separated the inter-faith couple that was at the centre of the communal clash that erupted at Dehradun railway station late Thursday night -- sending the minor girl back to her family in Budaun and relocating the man to an undisclosed location in Dehradun with his brother -- the girl, a member of the minority community, was adamant about marrying the man even after reaching home.

"The only thing that stopped me from marrying him was my age. I will wait till I turn 18 so that I can marry him and live together," the girl said. She added, "Currently, I am happy to stay with my family. I hope that he is safe wherever he is right now."

Speaking to TOI from her home in Budaun, she expressed her strong feelings for the man, a resident of her village, whom she had met while in Class 9. They eventually entered into a relationship, with the man promising to marry her before he came to Dehradun to work as a fruit-seller.

Meanwhile, the girl's family said they were unaware of the communal unrest in Dehradun that followed a clash at the railway station. "We returned to Budaun with our daughter Thursday night, escorted by local police. We later learned about the railway station incident through media reports but were unaware of the protests by right-wing groups the following day. We never expected that the incident would escalate to such a scale. We appeal to everyone to maintain peace and harmony," her father said.

The 21-year-old man, who was confronted by members of the minority community at the Dehradun railway station, has been moved to a safe location after being handed over to his brother by police. Authorities said they found no fault on his part, and no complaint was lodged against him.

Police had earlier registered cases against 14 named individuals, including Vikas Verma, local functionary of the Bajrang Dal, and Asif Qureshi, president of the city unit of the Azad Samaj Party, as well as 100 unidentified others, for their involvement in the clash. Eight of the 14, including Verma and Qureshi, were detained but later released on Friday evening after serving notices under Section 35(3) of the BNSS.