Greater Noida: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday met the family of a Muslim man lynched following rumours that he ate beef and called the murder “unfortunate”.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was allowed to meet the distraight family of Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, after being restrained for about four hours in a guest house by the administration.
Police meanwhile arrested two more people, taking the total number of arrests in the case to eight. Two other accused are on the run.
Kejriwal and some AAP leaders visited Bisara village where Akhlaq’s family members reside.
“The incident which occurred in this village is unfortunate. It should not have been occurred. This village has been peace loving… Such things are very painful,” Kejriwal told reporters.
He also met Hindu women who earlier took out a procession and blocked the entrance to the village, claiming the media and politicians were biased against them.
Kejriwal spent about half an hour in the village and heard the woes of the Hindu families as well.
The chief minister and his colleagues were initially stopped by police from entering the village as over 500 Hindu women protested, complaining of a one-sided media coverage of the gory incident.
As some in the street protest hurled stones, Kejriwal’s motorcade was diverted to a guest house, police said.
But after waiting at the guest house for nearly four hours, Kejriwal and his team – Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas and Ashutosh – met the widow and the mother of the victim.