LUCKNOW, India -- Indian police have detained three members of a Hindu militia for suspected involvement in the killing of a Muslim man who they blamed for helping an interfaith couple elope.

Police officer Muni Raj said Wednesday that Ghulam Mohammad was beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh state a day earlier. The killing came days after a man related to Mohammad eloped with a Hindu girl.

The detained men belong to the Hindu Yuva Vahini or the Hindu Youth Brigade. The militia was set up by a Hindu priest who is chief minister of Uttar Pradesh.

One of the militia's goals is to end marriages between Muslim men and Hindu women. They claim that Muslim men are trying to spread their faith by seducing Hindu women.