Rising Menace: Mob lynchings escalate as vulnerable Muslims and minors face grave danger

Three incidents of mob lynchings have surfaced over a period of two days, from the state of Assam, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. In all these incidents, surfacing between July 29-31, the victims were Muslims. Two of these mob attacks resulted in the death of two men. These days, self-appointed cow protectors and “Cow Security Squads” are running rampant across India, meting out lynchings in the form of “justice”. A mob lynching is not only any random act of violence committed against the person who is most readily available. It has a long history of deliberately enforcing its victims’ status as outcasts and oppressed.

Today, our country is plagued by the spectre of mob violence brought on by claims that the victims had eaten beef or slain or smuggled cows.  In some of these cases, the pretext for this lynching extends beyond immediate accusations of beef-eating and other, more typical accusations, such as kidnapping and theft.

Mob runs wild in police presence, one killed, five injured, accused of stealing cows

On July 30, a video surfaced on the social media which showed a big mob being controlled by the police while some officers put a few injured men in a vehicle. In the video, even as the police picks up the bodies of the injured men, certain people from the mob can be seen surging with them, trying to reach the victim. Reportedly, the incident was from July 25 when a Muslim man named Saddam Hussain of Borbari Ahotpam village was lynched to death by a mob of Hindu residents on suspicion of cow stealing. The incident reportedly took place in Ahotguri village in the Morigaon district of central Assam. Other than Saddam, who was lynched to death, five other sustained grave injuries.

As reported by Maktoob media, Saddam was accompanied by five Muslim youths, namely Mirajul Hoque, Anarul Hoque, Bilal Hussain, Samsul Hoque and Abul Hussain, were travelling on bikes. They were returning from Naramari village, around 7 km away from their homes, after watching the final match of a local kabaddi when the Hindu mob of 7-8 people approached them. As per the report, the six fellow villagers and friends were sports enthusiasts as one of them is a well-known football player in the area.

As per Maktoob media, the group of Muslim men were attacked based on accusation of stealing cows, a suspicion that the surviving victims have denied. Anarul, who was famous for his football skills narrated the incident to Maktoob media. He states that “They knew every one of us. Still, they accused us of stealing cows. When I said that we were not thieves and went to watch the kabaddi match and also asked them to verify, they hit me so badly that my vision became blurry”.

Anarul further provided that “they were travelling on bikes and it was not possible to steal cattle. They were tripling on two bikes. Yet more people joined the mob. It was clear that they are going to kill us. I felt their only intention was to finish us. So I asked all of them to run for life. Though I could only see blurry things, I said, you start running for your life, I will manage,” Anarul narrated the ordeal, as reported by Maktoob media.

It has been purported that while Anarul, Samsul and Abul were able to escape the mob, the other three were caught by the angry villagers.

Even when Samsuddin, Saddam’s elder brother, reached the spot of the lynchings with the police at night, they were unable to rescue the victims. As per Maktoob media, the police could only get the victim Muslim men out of the Hindu Village at around 11 am the next morning. Furthermore, as per the report, despite police’s presence the mob even kicked and stomped the still bodies of the three victims.

The video can be viewed here:

It has been alleged that Saddam was later declared dead. Saddam is survived by a 5-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son. Saddam’s other elder brother, Nasir, told Maktoob media, “It was not just that the six men were attacked. A fish seller from Borbari village was going to Morigaon town unaware of the situation at early dawn. Ajim Uddin (the fish seller) was also brutally attacked for just taking that road in the morning.” Nasir also stated that Saddam would only work as a labourer, sometimes in coalmines in Meghalaya and sometime in southern states to sustain his family of four members.

The other two, Mirajul and Billal are receiving treatment in the hospital. It was also reported that both the bikes belonging to the six Muslim men were burned by the mob. Reportedly, the mob also attacked the local press vehicles when they reached the scene.

Statement of the police: As reported by Maktoob media, IGP Prasant Kumar Bhuyan stated that three cows were stolen from Ahotguri village and the people were angry, which resulted in mob violence.

“Police party went and they were attacked. Even a police vehicle was attacked. Reinforcement party went in the morning and the victims were rescued,” said Bhuyan assuring strict punishment for the people involved in the lynching.

A report by Indian Today stated that the police has arrested eight people involved in the mob lynching, including as woman. Reacting to the arrests, victim Anarul said, “Those who attacked us in the night have not been arrested. Just because we are poor, don’t we deserve justice? We are Muslims, is that why we are not getting any justice?” Maktoob media reported.

Partially disabled man lynched, accused of smuggling beef

As per a report of the Wire, a 55-year-old man was lynched by a mob of at least 70, who accused him of smuggling beef. The incident was reported from the Paigambarpur village of Saran district in Bihar. Reportedly, the deceased Zahiruddin was a fifty-five-year-old truck driver who worked for an animal bones supplier and by product manufacturer. He was transporting animal bones – an essential component in the pharmaceutical industry – when he was killed. The Wire reported that the colleagues of the deceased stated that since Zahiruddin was partially disabled on one of his legs, he could not run from the mob.

While the incident surfaced on July 29, it had occurred on June 28, a day before Bakri Eid was celebrated.  As per the report of the Wire, the Jalalpura Police Station had registered an FIR in the said case on June 29. In the FIR, six individuals were named – Prakash Singh, Sunil Singh, Kallu, Tribhuvan Singh, Anup Singh, Pramod Singh – and 30 unnamed others have been booked under Sections 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 147 (punishment for rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with a deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

Notably, as per the Wire, one of the named accused, Sunil Singh, is the mukhiya or chief of Paigambarpur village.

Two minors attacked, accused of throwing fish meat at temple

A shocking incident surfaced on July 31, from Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, where two minors were beaten up by a Hindu man. Reportedly, the two minor Madrassa students had bought fish on their way back home. The two were stopped by a man named Lalit Kumar, who accused the children of throwing the fish meat into a temple at Chandi Mandir area. Kumar beat the two minors based on his allegations. As per reports, the police has arrested Lalit Kumar.

A video of the said incident has also surfaced where a man can be seen holding the collars of two boys in one hand on a busy road. He can be seen hitting the two children. The video also focusses on the alleged packet of meat in the hands of one of the two minor boy. A group of people can be seen standing around as the man manhandles the two minor boys. Towards the end of the video, a policeman can also be seen on the spot.

The video can be viewed here:

Related:

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