Najeeb, lynching victims remembered at iftar
an iftar get-together organised by the Students Islamic Organization of India on Wednesday, missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed’s mother, Fatima Nafees, called on people of the community to unite to fight the “oppression of Muslims.”
“Get strong, stand together (united)... They want to divide us. This should not happen... (Until we unite) they will keep dividing us and oppressing us,” said Nafees at the event, which also had family members of Akhlaq, the man who was killed in the Dadri lynching over alleged possession of beef, and Pehlu Khan, the cattle farmer who was lynched by a mob in Alwar for allegedly transporting cows.
Azamath Khan, who was Pehlu Khan’s neighbour and was with him when the lynching happened, said how their livelihood had been threatened by the increasing cow vigilantism.
“My father, grandfather, and great grandfather all bred and herded cattle. I usually have buffaloes and trade their milk. But my buffalo had stopped giving milk, and we had gone to buy new ones. However, because the buffalo was proving to be more expensive, we bought two cows instead. We were going to milk the cows and trade their milk. We even had all the necessary documents. But (the mob) paid no heed to any of this and started beating us up,” he said, while adding how they had considered giving up the trade for fear after the incident.
Azamath Khan and Irshad Khan also point to the apparent hypocrisy in the system. “We lost our money. Our men lost their lives. But the case is filed against us,” said Irshad, Pehlu Khan’s son.
The men also alleged that they had not received any support from the government, state or otherwise, as did the other victims.
Jan Mohammed, Akhlaq’s brother, also said, “Nowadays, if a lion appears in front of a man, he will manage, but if a cow even passes behind him then it may spell trouble for him.”
Mohammed and Nafees both reiterated the alleged discrepancies during the investigation. Mohammed cited the difference in weights of the meat sample in different forensic reports. “According to the police reports, two kg meat was collected form the site.
Later, according to a forensic report, this sample grew to 4.5 kgs,” he said.
“The cops did not let me add the names of the students who had (allegedly) beaten up my son in the complaint, and made it a simple missing persons’ case. They told me that way they will help me find my son within 24 hours, and now it has been almost 8 months,” said the grieving mother, who still has not lost hope.
“No matter how long it takes, I am sure my son will come back to me. Wherever they have hidden him, he will come back,” she said.