NAHAN (HP): At least 10 people, including policemen, were injured in stone pelting by two groups that clashed in Himachal Pradesh’s Poanta Sahib area in Sirmaur district over the alleged elopement of a Hindu-Muslim couple.Local Hindu outfits have been protesting for over four days in Poanta Sahib town, claiming it to be a case of “love jihad”.Police has made additional deployment of force to maintain law and order in the area.Family members of the 18-year-old woman claimed the couple allegedly ran away on June 4 on the 19-year-old man’s bidding and lodged a complaint with the police.On Friday, protestors which included members of local Hindu organisations blocked the Nahan-Paonta Highway for about an hour at Majra, 25 km From Nahan, demanding strict action in the case.In the evening, as soon as the crowd of protesters started moving towards the Muslim man’s house, there was stone pelting from the other side, to which the protesters, too, responded with stone pelting from their side.Police used force to stop the stone-pelting.Over ten people, which included women and some cops, were injured in the incident, sources said.Terming the elopement as another case of “love jihad”, members of local Hindu outfits alleged that the police and administration are being lax in the matter and have not traced the woman.”Love jihad” is a term often used by right-wing activists to allege a ploy by Muslim men to lure Hindu women into religious conversion through marriage.
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