Some local sources said that both the victims were shooing away a cow a calf that had entered their field when someone spread the rumour of people smuggling cows from farmlands for cow slaughter. A mob armed with lathis gathered at the spot. The local administration, on the other hand, said that it was a case of road rage.
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Meerut: Its only been a few days since two men were lynched in Jharkhand’s Godda district that news of another mob lynching has surfaced again, but this time in Meerut, UP. 45-year-old Qasim, a cattle trader was beaten to death and his friend 55-year-old Sameyddin is critically injured after a mob attacked them on the suspicion of cow slaughter. The incident occurred in Hapur’s Bajhera Khurd village on Monday.
“A video of the purported incident surfaced on Tuesday in which unidentified voices can be heard justifying the attack, terming it “punishment for cow slaughter.” The video shows a man with multiple injuries lying in the middle of a field, writhing in pain. He is surrounded by a large group of people, one of whom is heard saying that “there is no need to give him water,” reported Times of India.
“Qasim, 45, a cattle trader, received a call from someone who claimed to be a seller of cattle, asking him to come to Bajhaida Khurd, said his son Mahtab. The next thing he got to know was that his father was dead. “This looks like a conspiracy. It needs to be investigated,” said Mr. Mahtab, a resident of Siddiqpura village, next to Bajhaida Khurd,” reported the Hindu.
The family of Sameyddin, a resident of Madapur, told The Hindu that he had gone to get grass for the cattle. He saw someone being beaten after which he got scared and ran. He was cornered and brutally beaten by the mob.
Some local sources said that both the victims were shooing away a cow a calf that had entered their field when someone spread the rumour of people smuggling cows from farmlands for cow slaughter. A mob armed with lathis gathered at the spot. The local administration, on the other hand, said that it was a case of road rage.
“The mob went towards the village in the vicinity, Madapur, and found Qasim and Sameyddin working in the farm. It attacked them with sticks. As the news of the lynching spread, officials immediately reached the spot. Circle Officer Pawan Kumar and police station in charge Ashwini Kumar took the injured to a local private hospital where Qasim was declared ‘brought dead’ by doctors. Police have rejected villagers’ allegation of cow slaughter rumours as the basis of the lynching. They have detained five people in connection with the incident. Given the sensitivity of the matter, senior officials from Hapur, including Superintendent of Police Sankalp Sharma, Assistant Superintendent of Police Rammohan Singh and the Sub-Divisional Magistrate Hanuman Prasad reached the police station,” reported The Hindu.
SP Hapur Sankalp Sharma said, “The victim’s family has given us a written complaint, saying that the beating and the fight was triggered after a motorbike hit some people. One person died and another was assaulted.”
The report further added that as the news of Qasim’s death spread, residents of Bajhaida Khurd and Madapur confronted each other, leading to communal tension in the area. “Police and personnel of the PAC were immediately deployed in the area. The residents of Bajhaida Khurd alleged that Qasim was trying to smuggle the local cows and when they protested, he started attacking the villagers. Sameyddin’s family members alleged that he was cutting grass for his cattle when he was picked up and beaten by local villagers,” it said.