LUCKNOW: More than 300 persons including five women have been booked for obstructing police proceedings against a accused in five cases of gang rape in Phugana village. Two cases have been registered under various sections of IPC for pelting stones and opposing the police in discharge of their duty, police said on Tuesday. Five women - Sunita, Minu, Shimla, Babli and another Sunita have been named in this connection, said police.

Police had faced resistance from the irate locals on January 30 and January 31 when they had gone to the village for putting up notices of attachment proceedings at the homes of the accused, they said. Six cases of gang rape were registered against 27 persons during riots in which 22 persons were found involved. While one Vedpal was arrested on January 24.

Earlier speaking to TOI, Dharmendra Malik, a senior member of the Ghatwala Khaap, said, "Under any circumstances, we would not allow any one from our community to be associated with the stigma of rape, which is a social crime, while at the same time, we do not mind to be wrongly framed in a murder case." He further added that the Khaap members would adopt "non-violent as well as violent means", if the police try to arrest the innocent persons in cases of rape. "Section 376 of the IPC has been wrongly clamped in our area," Malik added.

Citing a few examples to substantiate his claims, Malik, said, "On September 10, an FIR pertaining to arson and loot was registered in the village. Then on October 9, almost after one month, an FIR alleging rape was registered. Our only contention is that why it took the aggrieved party one-month time to realise that they have been raped. Had they been raped at the first instance, the first FIR would have been of rape and not arson and loot." He also informed that the representatives decided to appeal and urge the Muslim clerics and Ulemas to tell members of their communities to withdraw fake cases, and let peace prevail in the region, and in order to accomplish this, members of each and every Khaap would extend all possible help.

More than 60 people were killed and over 50,000 were displaced during the riots in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September last.