Naqvi questions vigilante attack, Kurien wants probe

minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi dismissed on Thursday the version of events of the killing of a Muslim man by cow vigilante groups in Rajasthan’s Alwar district amid growing uproar over the lynching.

“Jis tarah ki ghatna pesh ki ja rahi hai, us tarah ki ghatna zameen par hua nehi (The version of events presented didn’t occur),” Naqvi said amid an uproar in the Rajya Sabha over the incident.

As a united Opposition slammed the government for doing nothing against rogue groups thrashing people on the pretext of cow protection, Naqvi said, “This issue is a very sensitive issue. The message should not go from the House that we are supporting cow slaughter. Millions of people’s sentiments are involved in the issue.”

The statement further infuriated the Opposition.

Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad lashed out at the minister for “ill-informed and insensitive”. Quoting media reports he said, even foreign publications have reported the incident.

Naqvi said media reports has already been rejected by the state government.

With both sides trading charges on the issue, deputy chairman PJ Kurien directed the Home Ministry to submit a report on the incident.

Kurien said in view of conflicting reports, he wants the home ministry to probe it. “If such an incident has happened, then it is a serious matter and if it has not happened and has been said in the House, then too it is a serious matter,” he said.

Pehlu Khan, 55, succumbed to injuries on Monday night after a group of cow protection activists attacked him and four others while they were transporting cattle along the Alwar highway.

They had valid permits for transporting the animals.

THE MESSAGE SHOULD NOT GO FROM THE HOUSE THAT WE ARE SUPPORTING COW SLAUGHTER, THE MINISTER SAID IN LS