By Raqib Hameed Naik, TwoCircles.net
Greater Noida : Three days after the lynching of 50 year old Mohammad Ikhlaq in Bisahara Village in Dadri tehsil of Uttar Pradesh, an uneasy calm prevailed on Thursday in the region with squads of the Uttar Pradesh Police and Rapid Action Force patrolling the streets.
UP Police who is probing the incident said that the “trigger” behind it was the announcement by a local temple that beef was being consumed by the victim’s family, and said the priest and two youths were the “major links” in the case.
Relatives mourn the killing of 50-year-old Muslim farmer Mohammad Akhlaq at his home in Bisara village. (Courtesy: AP/IE)
The youths had forced the temple priest to make the announcement, police said, adding that it triggered the attack. The FIR lodged in this connection has no mention of beef.
“FIR has been lodged under IPC section 147 (Punishment for rioting), 148 (Rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302(murder), 307 (Attempt to murder), 458(house-trespass or house-breaking), 504 ( Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace),” an officer said.
Ten persons have been named as accused along with over a hundred unknown assailants. The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint lodged by the victim’s family.
Mohammad Ikhlaq, 50, was severely beaten before being hacked to death by a mob of at least 200 people while his son Danish was severely injured in the attack over allegations of slaughtering a cow and storing beef in their refrigerator.
The BJP Union Minister, Mahesh Sharma on Thursday described the lynching of Ikhlaq as an “accident” and said that no “communal colour” should be given to it, even as the family of the victim is planning to move out of the village fearing that it may happen again.
“This (incident) should be considered as an accident without giving any communal colour to it. I feel this incident occurred due to some misunderstanding and the law should truthfully act against whoever is responsible for it,” Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism and BJP MP from Noida, said.
On the other side, the Muslims living in Bisahra village on Wednesday had planned to leave the village, fearing for their lives but all finally stayed on after the district administration guaranteed their safety and pledged to arrest those responsible for the attack.
“My son has been killed, while my younger grandson is battling for his life. For the time being, police are giving us protection. But they can’t stay in the village permanently. We fear that more such attacks may take place. We are in touch with our relatives and are planning to leave the village for a safe location,” said Asghari, the mother of Ikhlaq, a septuagenarian was quoted in a report in Times of India
Around 50 Muslim families live in the village, which has a population of 14,000 residents. Many other Muslims of the village also admitted that leaving the village permanently might be the only way to ensure safety for their families.
The Uttar Pradesh Police chief, Jagmohan Yadav, blamed social media for Dadri-like incidents.
“Investigations into the matter are being held at several levels. Its not a minor incident and it’s being investigated as to how a mob barged into a house at midnight and committed the horrendous crime. But misuse of social media platforms like Twitter are to blame for helping spread rumors that are leading to incidents like the one reported from Bisahra.,” said DGP, Jagmohan Yadav.
“We are undertaking particular steps to avoid similar incidents in the festive season ahead that includes Muharram and Dushera where processions on roads will be simultaneously undertaken by members of different religious communities,” he added.
Meanwhile, BJP vice President of western UP unit termed the death of Ikhlaq due to shock when someone told him that his son was dead.
“The man did not die because of the injuries but because of shock when someone (wrongly) told him his son was dead. This happens every day. When we hurt people’s sentiments, such clashes take place. This was not a communal riot. The Hindu community worships cows. Whose blood won’t boil if they see cow slaughter? ” Shrichand Sharma, vice-president of BJP’s western UP unit, told The Indian Express.
Nawab Singh Nagar, a former BJP MLA from Dadri, said, “If Cow slaughter is the case, then family is in the wrong. If they have consumed beef, they are also responsible. This is a village of Thakurs and they express their sentiments in a very strong way. If they have done this, they should have kept in mind what the reaction would be.”
While BJP and BSP leaders visited Bisahra and met the family of the victim as well as relatives of the six accused, the ruling Samajwadi Party stayed away from the village. The Samajwadi Party did not make any statement on the incident either, issuing only a press release in the evening.
Azam Khan, the senior SP leader and UP Urban Development Minister while launching scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while referring to the incident of lynching of a Muslim man in Greater Noida over beef rumors, said that Modi must rein in his volunteers.
“Prime Minister, please rein in your volunteers. Life, politics and posts are not forever but infamy remains forever. You have not been able to wipe out Gujarat taint and until this world lives, it will never be wiped out. Don’t make your volunteers do these things. Where are you taking the country to?” he said.
Another Samajwadi Party (SP) leader and former Member Parliament from this area, Surendra Singh Nagar while speaking to TwoCircles.net termed the incident as conspiracy of some parties to create communal flare up in Uttar Pradesh.
“This is a very unfortunate incident. It is basically a conspiracy of some parties who want communal flare up in Uttar Pradesh once again. The Dadri area, where the incident took place has always remained one of the most peaceful area in the western UP. There was very cooperation between Thakurs and Muslims of the area. We will push for stern punishment to the culprits,” Surinder Nagar told Twocircles.net
The leader claimed that he along with officials from administration are moving across several villages for instilling trust among both the communities to maintain communal harmony.
“We are continuously moving from villages to village and meeting Hindu and Muslim people to maintain communal harmony in the back drop of this incident,” he added.
Meanwhile, Some BJP leaders eager to maintain the communal tension have called a “mahapanchayat” for October 11th. UP unit of All Indian Majlis Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have asked the UP government to put a stop to it else they threatened to do their own “mahapanchayat” on October 11the as well.
AIMIM spokesperson Kazi M. Zahid also demanded a Muslim Prevention of Atrocities Act on the line of SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.