Saharanpur: Outcry over Kashish-Azam's escape, police-PAC deployed in the village
Protests erupted in Gangoh's Sangatherda village after a young woman went missing with a man from another community, leading to police deployment after tensions rose following a viral video.
In Sangatherda village in the Gangoh area of Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, tensions flared when a young woman went missing, reportedly eloping with a boy from a different religious community. Following the girl's disappearance, locals and Hindu organizations staged a protest on the roads for five hours, demanding action. The young woman's father filed a complaint on February 24, alleging that a man named Azam had lured his underage daughter away. Although the police registered a case of missing persons and began searching, the situation escalated after a video of the missing woman went viral on social media, prompting heavy police protection in the area as officers sought to restore order.
In the viral video, the woman, Kashish, claimed that she is an adult and has left with Azam of her own free will. She stated that she had known him for a year and a half and took this step to escape perceived harassment from her family. Kashish also expressed a desire for police protection, indicating that legal documents would be prepared to formalize her relationship.
The situation is complicated by the fact that her family contends that she is approximately 17 years and 5 months old, which raises legal concerns regarding her age and consent. The response from Hindu organizations has been particularly aggressive, reflecting underlying tensions in communal relations and societal norms regarding inter-community relationships in the region.