Dehradun, May 5 -- A senior sub inspector, who was targeted by a mob inside the police station after communal tension erupted in Nainital following the rape of a 12-year-old girl by a 65-year-old man last month, said on Sunday that he was ready to take a bullet for the police force. The crowd allegedly kept asking for the identity of senior sub inspector Asif Khan, trying to pull him outside the police station by his uniform, and hurling abuses at him. A video of the incident that has gone viral purportedly shows that Khan, who has been serving the Uttarakhand Police for 31 years, was surrounded by the mob and was trying to maintain the law and order. The development took place after the rape case came to light, following which the mob assaulted Muslim men, vandalised their shops in Gaadi Padaw area, and protested at the police station. After police dispersed the mob while resorting to lathicharge, a group of protestors entered the police station around midnight. "When we dispersed the crowd and were coming back, the protesters surrounded a constable. When I went to rescue him, they started chasing me. I entered inside the police station, they too barged in and started misbehaving with me," said Khan (51), a resident of Kashipur. "I have been serving in the police for 31 years. Nothing like this has ever happened before. I've also held the position of station house officer in Pithoragarh. I have lived among Hindus since childhood. Most of my friends are Hindus. I consider myself part of the police family. I have lived for the police, and I will die for the police. My faith, my duty, everything is for the police. The blood running through my children's veins is because of the salary I earn from this uniform. I am always ready to take a bullet in the chest for the police force," he said. "The only thing saddened me was that they kept asking for my identity and name. It gnaws at my heart. It is possible that someone in the crowd may have read my name from the name plate that was on my uniform. I still believe that most of the people in the society want peace," he said. On May 1, Nainital Police booked 30 unidentified people for allegedly assaulting Muslim men and vandalising their shops in Gaadi Padaw area of Nainital. The FIR was registered against the accused under sections 115 (2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (2) (mischief), 191 (2) (rioting), and 126 (2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) based on the complaint of police station in-charge Hem Chandra Pant. Issuing a clarification on the matter, Nainital senior superintendent of police (SSP) Prahlad Narayan Meena said, "On the evening of April 30, a case of rape involving a minor girl was reported. At the same time, some local people vandalised the shops around the police station and behaved inappropriately with some people. The police responded immediately and effectively used force to disperse the crowd and restore law and order in the city." He added, "A video related to this incident is going viral on social media, in which some individuals can be seen misbehaving with a police officer. An FIR has already been registered in this case (May 1 FIR), and the individuals involved in the misconduct are being identified. Those who were involved....whether in vandalising shops, misbehaving with police personnel, or attempting to disrupt communal harmony are being identified, and the police will take the strictest possible action against them."...