Bareilly,

28 Dec (HS): Right-wing extremists barged into a restaurant here and disrupted

a birthday party, claiming love jihad. Police intervened and imposed fine on

two Muslim youngsters who were among the party's ten participants, as well as

an establishment employee, for disrupting the peace. The event occurred on

Saturday night, when a first-year BSc Nursing student organized her birthday

party at a restaurant in the Prem Nagar neighborhood, which was attended by

nine friends—five women and four males. Two of the four, Shan and Waqif, were

Muslim. According to authorities, the appearance of Muslim youngsters with a

Hindu woman prompted several members of a right-wing group to enter the

restaurant, interrupt the celebration, yell slogans, and accuse the youths of

love jihad.

After

receiving information, authorities from the Prem Nagar police station arrived

at the scene and brought the student and others to the station for

interrogation. Initially, one Muslim youth was detained, while the other

escaped. According to Station House Officer Raj Bali, the student lives in a

dormitory in Prem Nagar and is studying at a private institution for a BSc in

Nursing. She planned a birthday party for her pals. We phoned her family,

including her aunt, who lives in Prem Nagar, and notified the families of the

others who were present, he explained. The police first drafted a challan for

breach of peace against Shan and café employee Shailendra Gangwar.

However,

after discovering that another Muslim youth, Waqif, had left, Circle Officer

First Ashutosh Shivam initiated a search and found him. All three -- two youths

and a café employee -- were charged on Sunday with disturbing the peace,

according to the circle officer, who added that the issue was now under

control.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi