Barbaric act but no religious angle in Jharkhand lynching, says Naidu

The government condemned on Friday the lynching of a 45-year-old Muslim trader for allegedly carrying beef in Jharkhand but said there was no “religious angle” to the incident that was the latest in a string of cowrelated violence across India.

“It’s a barbaric incident, should be condemned by all, don’t bring religious angle in it,” Union urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu told a news agency. The comments came a day after the PM warned cow vigilantes to not take the law in their own hands and condemned any violence in the name of an animal considered holy by many Hindus.

But hours later, a 100-strong mob thrashed trader Alimuddin aka Asgar Ali, who died in hospital. Photos showed the mob hitting the man, meat pieces strewn on the road, and his car in flames. In one photo, a bloodied and dazed Alimuddin was caught minutes before his death.

Overwhelmed by grief, Mariam Khatoon, Alimuddin’s wife, on Friday denied police claims that her husband traded in beef. “They were rogues owing allegiance to Bajrang Dal,” alleged an inconsolable Khatoon.

She demanded that her husband’s killers be shown no mercy. “They deserve a similar treatment. Jail is not the place they deserve. They need to be sent to hell,” she said.

Prohibitory orders were imposed and mobile Internet services suspended in Nagaur and Churu on Friday as protests by the Rajput community over the encounter killing of gangster Anandpal Singh spread to several other parts of the state.

The development came even as the government changed the investigating officer in the case and a local court directed police to conduct a fresh post-mortem of the slain gangster.

Earlier in the day, hearing a petition filed by Anandpal’s mother Nirmal Kanwar, additional district judge of Ratangarh (Churu), Jagdish Jyani ordered a fresh post-mortem at an ‘A’ level hospital in compliance of Supreme Court guidelines for police encounters.

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They deserve a similar treatment. Jail is not the place they deserve. They need to be sent to hell