india

Updated: Aug 04, 2014 14:43 IST

Tension gripped Meerut on Sunday evening after a mob came out on the roads in Kharkhauda area to protest against an alleged attempt to convert a young madrasa teacher, who was allegedly gang-raped by assaulters.

DGP AL Banerjee said in Lucknow that an alert was sounded in Meerut and neighbouring districts. Police forces were deployed in Kharkhauda police station area. The district administration, meanwhile, maintained a strict vigil on Sarawa village, where the madrasa is situated. The state administration was on its toes as the incident came close on the heels of the Saharanpur riots.

The teacher was reportedly compelled to adopt the religion of a minority community in a madrasa in Hapur district, then taken to Muzaffarnagar and kept in confinement in a house there for three days.

The 20-year-old woman reportedly managed to escape from the clutches of the abductors. She reached Kharkhauda on Sunday and narrated her tale to her family. She also alleged that she was gang-raped.

A case was lodged against a madrasa official, the village pradhan and their aides who allegedly plotted the conversion plan.

Meanwhile, police arrested village pradhan Nawabkhan and madarsa official Sannaullah on the complaint of the girl. "A named FIR against four persons has been lodged and two of them have been arrested," said DIG of Meerut range K Satyanarayan.

The DIG added: "We are probing the allegation of gang-rape and the woman has been referred for medical examination."

The woman was a regular teacher of Hindi and English in the Sarawa village madarsa in Kharkhauda area.

In her complaint, she alleged that the village pradhan, Sannaullah and a few of their aides took her to the madarsa of Dautai village of Hapur district on July 30, a day after Eid. There she was compelled to convert and her name was also allegedly changed. They then took her to Muzaffarnagar where she was kept in confinement.

The girl's family had lodged a missing complaint in Kharkhauda police station on July 30 itself.

The conversion news spread like a wildfire and hundreds of people gathered outside the police station where they raised slogans and demanded stern action against the culprits.

Meanwhile, Meerut-Hapur MP Rajendra Aggarwal and many BJP leaders arrived at the spot and demanded stern action against the culprits. "The SHO of Kharkhauda police station, Dinesh Kumar, has been removed and officials have assured strict action in the case," said Aggarwal, who termed the incident "unfortunate" and held the SHO responsible for the crime.