Ghaziabad: Groups clash after girl gifted phone; 7 held

Police said that initially, the groups attacked each other with rods and sticks, later they used bricks and stones piled up in by lanes and also on the rooftop of their houses

Ghaziabad: Seven people of two separate groups were arrested in Ghaziabad on Sunday after they stone-pelted each other following a dispute at Adarsh Colony in Muradnagar on Saturday, officers said, adding that they have booked 19 people over the incident.

Officers said that three people from each of the groups suffered injuries, and they were taken to hospital for treatment. (Representational image)

Police registered a first information report under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for unlawful assembly and rioting, voluntarily causing hurt, intentional insult to provoke breach of peace, criminal intimidation and acts endangering life and personal safety of others, they added.

The two groups belonged to the same community.

“It so happened that a young man from the second group gifted a mobile phone to a 16-year-old girl from the first group. The girl told this to her family and relatives. When the leader of first group questioned the second group, they attacked him. Both groups later clashed, pelting stones at each other in the densely-populated locality,” said Surendra Nath Tiwary, deputy commissioner of police (rural zone).

Videos of the violence also surfaced online.

Police said that initially, the groups attacked each other with rods and sticks, later they used bricks and stones piled up in by lanes and also on the rooftop of their houses.

Officers said that three people from each of the groups suffered injuries, and they were taken to hospital for treatment.

“Normalcy was restored after police intervention, and videos circulating on the social media will also be taken as part of evidence. Police arrested seven people of the two groups, and a search is on to trace others,” the DCP added.

Police have registered an FIR at Muradnagar police station.