2015 Dadri mob lynching

Dadri
Dadri is about 50 km from New Delhi

2015 Dadri mob lynching refers to case of mob lynching in which a mob of Hindu people attacked a Muslim family on the night of 28 September 2015 in Bisara village near Dadri, Uttar Pradesh, India. The attackers killed 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq Saifi (Ikhlaq according to some sources) and seriously injured his son, 22-year-old Daanish.[1][2][3][4]

Events

Rumours

On 28 September 2015 evening, two boys used the local temple's public announcement system to spread an unsubstantiated rumour that the family of Mohammad Akhlaq had killed a cow and consumed its meat on Eid-ul-Adha.[5][6] Later, the police said that this rumor was the cause of the lynching.[7]

Attack

A Hindu mob carrying sticks arrived at Mohammad Akhlaq's house at around 10:30pm. The family had finished dinner and were about to go to sleep. Akhlaq and his son Danish were already asleep. The mob woke them and accused them of consuming beef. They found some meat in the refrigerator and seized it, but the family insisted it was mutton. The mob dragged the entire family outside and Akhlaq and Danish were repeatedly kicked, hit with bricks and stabbed. Akhlaq's elderly mother and his wife were also attacked. The family's neighbours tried to stop the mob but were not able to. The police were called and arrived an hour later. By then, Akhlaq was dead and Danish was badly injured.[3][5][6][8]

The family had been living in the village for about the 70 years. The family consisted of Akhlaq, 52; his brother Jan Mohammad Saifi, 42; mother Asgari Begum, 82; wife Ikram; son Danish, 22; and daughter Sajida.[3][9][10] Akhlaq's elder son, Mohammad Sartaj, 27, works as a corporal-ranked technician in the Indian Air Force and was in Chennai at the time of attack.[11]

Aftermath and arrests

The police arrested the temple's priest and his assistant for questioning. A first information report (FIR) was filed naming ten of the attackers based on the testimony of the family members. The FIR contained charges under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 458 (house-breaking), and 504 (intentional insult with intent to breach of the peace) of the Indian Penal Code. Six of them were found and arrested by 1 October. On 1 October, the number of arrests went to eight. The arrests were protested by locals. The protesters set fire on vehicles and vandalised shops. The police had to fire in the air to disperse them. One person was injured in the protests.[5][7][8] Personnel from Uttar Pradesh Provincial Armed Constabulary and the Rapid Action Force were deployed in the village.[12]

The temple priest denied involvement. He said that he was forced to make the announcement by some youngsters. The priest said that he had only announced that a cow had been killed and asked people to gather near the temple.[7] On 3 October, a man named Vishal, the son of a local BJP leader Sanjay Rana, was arrested in connection to the case.[13] By 4 October, Danish had spent 4 days in the Intensive Care Unit and undergone two brain surgeries. He had been admitted in Kailash Hospital, Greater Noida.[11] Some female relatives of the arrested persons attacked journalists and pelted stones at media vans. They claimed that these persons had been wrongly arrested and the media was covering only the victim's story.[14][15]

On 5 October, Uttar Pradesh Police asked microblogging site Twitter to remove certain text and photographs related to the incident, which it considered provocative.[16][17] The family left Bisara village and moved to an Indian Air Force zone in Delhi on 6 October.[18][19]

Reactions

The Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav announced as ex-gratia of ₹1,000,000 for the family on 30 September 2015. He also directed the District Magistrate and Senior Superintendent of Police of Noida to provide police protection to the family.[20] On 3 October 2015, the ex-gratia was raised to ₹2,000,000.[21] Mohammad Akhlaq's elder son Mohammad Sartaj, a technician in the Indian Air Force, said that he has decided to move the family out of Dadri.[22] The family has shifted to Delhi on 6 Oct.

Home Minister and former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Rajnath Singh, appealed to people to maintain communal harmony and promised strict action against those try to disrupt it.[23] Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said such incidents affect the image of the nation and people should rise above them.[24] Mahesh Sharma, a BJP Union Minister, said that the lynching was not planned but an unfortunate accident. However, he promised justice to the family.[25] Another BJP leader Tarun Vijay said that this incident may derail the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's agenda of development. He asked Hindus to look after cows instead of resorting to violence. He also pointed to the issues of beef export and stray cows consuming plastic from garbage.[26] Another BJP leader, Sakshi Maharaj criticised the exgratia amount and said that if a Hindu had been killed his family would have received much less.[27]

Asaduddin Owaisi, leader of All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, criticized the police's decision to test the meat, calling this an irrelevance in light of the violent attack. He also criticized the ruling party of the state for inaction and the local BJP leaders for seeking to defending the attackers.[28]

Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha called the incident unfortunate and said that they were trying to move the family to an Indian Air Force area to help and protect them.[29] Former Bihar Chief Minister and leader of RJD political party Lalu Yadav said that poor people and Indian expatriates eat beef and that there was no biological difference between beef and goat. He added that eating meat and beef was not good for health.[30] However he later he retracted his statements, admitting he had spoken without any thought.[31] Former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju said that he eats beef and does not consider cows to be sacred. He called for fast justice and strict punishment for the attackers.[32][33]

On 6 October 2015, author Nayantara Sahgal returned her Sahitya Akademi award in protest of the growing intolerance in the country. She pointed to the recent murders of M. M. Kalburgi, Narendra Dabholkar and Govind Pansare, and called Dadri lynching her last straw.[34][35] Later, Ashok Vajpeyi and Rahman Abbas also returned their awards.[36]

On 7 October 2015, Azam Khan, a cabinet minister in the Government of Uttar Pradesh, said that he will raise the Dadri lynching issue at United Nations.[37] Also on 7 October 2015, President of India Pranab Mukherjee said that diversity, tolerance and plurality are the core of Indian civilisation and they kept India united for centuries.[38]

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, referencing the President's speech, said in a public rally on 8 October 2015 to follow President's message and ignore statements of communal political leaders, urging people to stay united. He stated, "Hindus and Muslims should fight against poverty and not against each other".[39][40]

Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, in a speech on October 15th, has termed the incident dukhad [saddening]. But he questioned the logic behind blaming the Centre for it. Mr. Modi also termed undesirable the opposition to Pakistani singer Ghulam Ali’s concert in Mumbai by the Shiv Sena, but sought to know how the Centre was responsible for it.[41]

Request to close all inquiries

The relatives of Mohammad Akhlaq met the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Akhilesh Yadav in the first week of December 2015. They expessed satisfaction on the monetary support they received and the progress of the case inquiry. At the same time, they requested the Chief Minister to close all further inquiries into the case.[42]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Indian man lynched over beef rumours". BBC News. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Dadri: Outrage after mob lynches man for allegedly consuming beef". The Indian Express. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Indian mob kills man over beef eating rumour". Al Jazeera. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "Bisara faces political polarisation". Deccan Herald. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Why India man was lynched over beef rumours". BBC News. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  6. 1 2 "A mob in India just dragged a man from his home and beat him to death — for eating beef". Washington Post. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "Temple announcement about beef triggered the lynching: Police". The Economic Times. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  8. 1 2 "Eight held for lynching ‘beef-eater’ in Dadri". Mumbai Mirror. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Mob allegedly beat Muslim farmer to death for eating beef". Toronto Sun. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  10. ↑ "Dadri lynching: Three days before attack, my son was called a Pakistani, says mother". The Indian Express. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  11. 1 2 "Danish battles for life, his brother decides to leave Dadri village". India Today. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  12. ↑ "UP Police, RAF, paramilitary patrol tense Dadri village". The Indian Express. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  13. ↑ "BJP leader’s son held in Dadri lynching case". The Hindu. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  14. ↑ "Dadri lynching: Women residents throw stones, chase media out of village". The Indian Express. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Mob lynching in Dadri: Kin of accused attack journalists over ‘bias’". Mumbai Mirror. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Dadri lynching: Police asks Twitter to delete ‘provocative’ posts on Muhammad Akhlaq's killing". DNA India. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  17. ↑ "Dadri lynching: Uttar Pradesh Police ask Twitter to delete ‘provocative’ posts on killing". The Times of India. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  18. ↑ "Beef battle: Iqlakh’s family leaves Dadri". Deccan Chronicle. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  19. ↑ "Dadri killing: Victim's family moves to Delhi, peace march held in village". DNA India. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Dadri lynching: UP govt announces Rs 10 lakh compensation to next of kin". The Indian Express. 30 September 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  21. ↑ "Dadri Mob Killing: Ex-Gratia for Family Raised to Rs. 20 Lakh". NDTV. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  22. ↑ "'Neighbours' Attacked his Father. Now Air Force Man Wants to Move His family". NDTV. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  23. ↑ "Strict action against those who disrupt harmony, Rajnath on Dadri lynching". The Hindu. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  24. ↑ "Incidents Like Dadri Mob Killing Bring Bad Name to India, Says Arun Jaitley". NDTV. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  25. ↑ "Dadri lynching: Mob murder an accident, arrested youths too will get justice, says Mahesh Sharma". The Indian Express. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  26. ↑ "Dadri lynching: Incidents like these derail PM Modi’s efforts, says BJP MP Tarun Vijay". The Indian Express. 1 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  27. ↑ "When Muslim dies they give 20 lakhs, but Hindu doesn't even get 20,000: Sakshi Maharaj". Zee News. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  28. ↑ "Why test meat, why not their brains, asks Owaisi". The Times of India. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  29. ↑ "Dadri lynching was unfortunate, trying to move family to IAF area, says Air chief Arup Raha". The Indian Express. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  30. ↑ "Hindus also eat beef, says Lalu". The Indian Express. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  31. ↑ "Fearing Yadav backlash, Lalu goes back on ‘Hindus eat beef’ remark". The Times of India. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  32. ↑ "I eat beef and don't consider cow as mother, Justice Markandey Katju says". The Times of India. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  33. ↑ "Dadri lynching: Cow cannot be anyone’s mother, it’s just another animal, says Katju". The Indian Express. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  34. ↑ "Nehru's niece Nayantara Sehgal returns Sahitya Akademi award, protests rising intolerance". The Times of India. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  35. ↑ "Nayantara Sahgal protests Dadri lynching, returns Akademi award". The Hindu. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  36. ↑ "Urdu writer returns state award to protest against 'intolerance'". The Times of India. 8 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  37. ↑ "Sack me if you want, but Dadri case is going to the UN, says Azam Khan". Daily News and Analysis. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  38. ↑ "Pranab warns against letting go of India’s core values". The Hindu. 7 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  39. ↑ "Modi breaks silence on Dadri lynching". The Hindu. 2015-10-03. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  40. ↑ "PM Modi breaks silence on Dadri: President’s message our guiding principle". The Indian Express. 2013-10-27. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
  41. ↑ "Lynching is saddening, but Centre not to blame: Modi". The Hindu. 2015-10-15. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
  42. ↑ उत्तर प्रदेश : अब कोई जांच नहीं चाहते दादरी कांड के पीड़ित
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