Haldwani, Aug. 1 -- Communal tension flared in Nainital's Mallital area on Wednesday night after a 16-year-old girl attempted to defend a 24-year-old man, belonging to the minority community, who was detained for molesting a girl, police said on Thursday, adding that the situation escalated when members of Hindu organisations allegedly attacked the accused's family and assaulted his father over the accused's interfaith relationship. Mallital police station in-charge Hem Chandra Pant said that a man was detained on Wednesday evening on charges of molesting a girl. "However, while the investigation was underway, a minor, belonging to the Hindu community, came and defended the accused in custody. During questioning, it came to light that the girl was in a relationship with him," he said. "Soon, the girl's family came to urge her to return but when she refused, her parents accused the man of influencing her and claimed he had made her addicted to drugs," he said. The officer said that following the incident, members of Hindu organisations gathered outside Mallital police station and staged a protest. "The situation further escalated when members of the minority community also came to protest," he said. Police said that when the protesters learnt that the man was released they went to his house in the Sukhatal area of Nainital. "Unable to locate the man, they allegedly assaulted his father. The man's family managed to rescue him and alerted the police. By the time the police arrived, the attackers had fled the scene," police added....