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Alwar: Merely days after Rakbar khan was lynched in Alwar, Rajasthan, three women were arrested in the district for packaging beef. A fresh row erupted in Govindgarh town in Alwar, when local police claimed that they found 40kgs of cow meat at a family’s home in Ambedkar Nagar area.
 
“We got information around 7:45 am that a cow is being slaughtered at a butcher’s house near Badbada Mod (turn). We reached the spot within 10 minutes and saw that three women are packing meat in a polythene and weighing it,” said Roop Narayan Sharma, assistant sub-inspector at Govind Garh police station in a report by Hindustan Times.
 
“We asked them what they were packing. One of the women replied that a buffalo was slaughtered and they were packing its meat. We called the regional veterinary officer to confirm whether the meat was of a cow or a buffalo. The officer confirmed that it was beef. He also sent a sample to FSL, Jaipur,” the report added.
 
Tension in area
“The villagers forced shopkeepers in the market to pull down their shutters and gathered at the police station to demand strict action after this news spread. Additional police force was deployed in Govindgarh to keep the situation under control, though no violence was reported from anywhere,” The Hindu reported.
 
FIR registered
“The three women have been identified as Akbari Qureshi, Shabina, and Bhoori, the ASI said. “During the preliminary questioning, Akbari admitted that her son Shakeel Qureshi and his friend Sattar (who is a butcher) had brought a cow’s calf yesterday and we have slaughtered it for the first time,” said Sharma who is investigating the case in the report by HT.
 
An FIR was registered against five people under sections of Rajasthan Bovine Animal Act. The three women were arrested and the hunt for absconding Shakeel and Sattar is on.
 
Reacting to the incident, Ramgarh MLA Gyandev Ahuja said in the report, “We treat cows like our mother. Cow slaughter should be kept in the category of terrorism and special task force should be made to deal with this issue.” He added, “The Meo Muslims of Haryana are involved in the business of buying and selling beef.”
 
“Cases of smuggling of cows to alleged illegal slaughterhouses in Haryana have been reported in Alwar and Bharatpur. The state government has established police outposts in the area to prevent cow smuggling. Self-styled cow protection groups are active in the region and carry out night patrols to thwart cow smuggling attempts,” the report added.
 
In 2017, trader Pehlu Khan was beaten to death in Alwar when he was transporting cows to his home in Haryana. Dairy farmer Umar Mohammed was shot dead and then thrown on the railway tracks allegedly by members of cow protection groups associated with right-wing extremist organizations.
 
Read Also: 
Yet another man lynched in Alwar, Rajasthan
Umar Lynching: Alwar Police eat crow, blame “anti-social elements”
 

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Alwar IG Hemant Priyadarshi held a press conference on July 21, saying, “The police received intimation at 12:40 at night and immediately set out for the spot.” By the time the police reached the spot, Khan was bleeding profusely. He was declared brought dead to the hospital. “The body has been sent for post mortem. Two people suspected of their involvement were questioned and later arrested. We are still looking for the other suspects. We are committed to ensuring justice in the case,” said IG Priyadarshini. Meanwhile, an FIR has been filed against unknown persons.

Akbar Khan was a resident of Kol Village in Ferozepur Jhirka in Haryana. He is survived by five children. According to Jag Ram, the Sarpanch of his village, far from being a cattle smuggler, Khan was a shepherd who occasionally also worked as a labourer to make ends meet. 

Activists claim that this is a part of a larger extortion network operated by the so called gau rakshaks. The People’s Union of Civil Liberties issued a statement on Saturday saying, ”

PUCL’s entire statement may be read here.

Meanwhile, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje responded to the lynching in a tweet saying, “The incident of alleged lynching of a person transporting bovines in Alwar district is condemnable. Strictest possible action shall be taken against the perpetrators.”

This incident comes just 15 months after dairy farmer Pehlu Khan was lynched by a mob along a highway in Alwar district. In fact, Ummar Khan whose body was discovered near railway tracks in November 2017 was also alleged to have been killed by cow vigilantes. These successive instances of a group of people feeling empowered and confident enough to take the law into their own hands in the state, one wonders if there is a reason why the fear of the law is absent in Rajasthan.
 

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 “It is well known that extortionists under the garb of ‘gaurakshaks’ are roaming the streets looking for a prey. If those carrying cows are able to pay the sum demanded, then they are allowed to go or else fired at and killed. This time too this has been the case, as reported by activists from the ground level.” The PUCL has collated this information from activists working at the ground level. “After having studied collectively with others activists, the lynchings in Mewat area of Rajasthan, it has become clear to the PUCL that Akbar Khan who had bought two cows from village Ladpur, Ramgarh tehsil, Alwar district and was taking back the cows in the night to his own village Kol near Firozpur Jhirka, Mewat, Haryana, was killed due to extortion. He was killed in Jungle Lalawandi, Ramgarh. It is well known that extortionists under the garb of Gaurakshaks are roaming the streets looking for a prey. If those carrying cows are able to pay the sum demanded, then they are allowed to go or else fired at and killed. This time too this has been the case, as reported by activists from the ground level.”
 
Facts of the Case
 
Reportedly, Akbar Khan bought two cows from village Ladpur, Ramgarh tehsil, Alwar district and was taking the cows back in the night to his own village Kolgaon near Firozpur Jhirka in Mewat, Haryana. He was accompanied by another man, Aslam. Suddenly, a group of people started thrashing them, as per Subhash Sharma, the officer at Ramgarh police station.  The murder of Akbar is the complete failure of Rajasthan government in protecting Muslims, in particular dairy farmers from the killer “Gaurakshaks”, who are basically extortionists, the statement records. The Ramgarh police brought the deceased Akbar Khan to Alwar and lodged an FIR 0321/18 under Sections 143, 341, 323, 302, 34 etc. of IPC at the police station.
 
Since 2017, incidents of lynching had increased pointing to the deliberate subversion of the law and order machinery. Three incidents took place in that year alone:

• May 30  2015, Abdul Gaffar Querishi, Birloka, Didwana tehsil, Nagaur district
• April 11, 2017 Pehlu Khan, Behror thana, Alwar district
• June, 16, 2017 Zafar Khan, Pratapgarh town, Pratapgarh district
• September 10,  2017 Bhagtaram Meena, neem ka thaana Sikar district.
• November 12, 2017, Umar Mohammed, a resident of Ghatmatika Pahadi, near Pahadi Kaman killed near RamgarahTehsil, Alwar

 Lawlessness on the Rise

It was not  merely lynching, but police encounters too had increased in frequency in cities such as Alwar, especially targeting Mev Muslims in the name of picking cows, it added. The civil rights body has also questioned the government on its inability to bring a halt to the “bloody madness” and alleged that the supposed Gaurakshaks have the full support of the police and administration. It highlighted, how Pehlu Khan’s killers roam around with impunity as his acquaintances, Azmat and Rafiq still face cases related to cow smuggling. Similarly, Zafar Khan’s killers too, are roaming scot free. Moreover, the eye witnesses in Umar’s case were lodged into jail making the cynical pattern of victims being made accused complete. Expressing concern over this prevalent culture of impunity to the killers, said, “There seems to be complete impunity to the killers, with the Home minister Gulab singh Kataria going on record that Gau Rakshaks to good work, after Pehlu khan was killed”.
 
All the killers named by Pehlu Khan were thrown out of the purview of investigation and cases of cow smuggling are still being faced by Pehlu khan’s companions, Azmat and Rafiq. Todate Zafar khans killers are roaming free and the eye witnesses in the Umar case were thrown into jail. In Bhagtaram’s case nothing happened, till the High Court intervened earlier this month in July. There seems to be complete impunity to the killers, with the Home minister Gulab singh Kataria going on record that Gau Rakshaks ‘do good work,’ after Pehlu khan was killed.
 
Among the demands made in the statement were sharp questions on whether or not the government of Rajasthan had any plans of implementing Supreme Court guidelines in which it has clearly made the Centre and the state responsible for lynching, and has said mobocracy will not be allowed. Further, it has said that all states should make nodal officers and there should be immediate arrests and filing of chargesheets as well as fast track courts and maximum punishment.
 
Besides there are specific demands made by PUCL:

• The transfer of the case to an independent agency, SIT or under the IG
• The arrest of Akbar Khan’s killers immediately
• The restoration of his cows to the family
• Compensation of Rs. 25 lakh and land to the family, a government job to the kin.
• Immediate protection to eye witness, Aslam be given protection.
• Ensure that no false case of cow smuggling be filed against Akbar and Aslam.
• Dismissal that the Ramgarh SHO be dismissed from duty as the onus is on the State to protect the people from lynching.  
• Rajasthan Home Minister give a plan for the protection of dairy farmers particularly the Meos in Mewat region.

 
PUCL has I also urged that no cases related to cow smuggling should be filed against Akbar and Aslam. Moreover, that the Ramgarh SHO should be dismissed from his duty. It has asked the Home minister to give a plan for the protection of dairy farmers particularly the Mevs in Mevat region.
 
Finally, the PUCL has demanded from the CM that there should be an immediate halt to the cases of lynching.
 
https://cjp.org.in/lynching-timeline/

Image Courtesy: Indian Express

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The PUCL Rajasthan  has demanded the arrests of policemen who allegedly also fired at the now dead Umar Muhammad on November 10, 2017 at Ghatmatika Pahadi, near Pahadi Kaman, Bharatpur, Rajasthan. No FIR was lodged till yesterday, two days after the ghastly murder first initiated by so called ‘Gau Rakshaks’. Sabrangindia had reported from the TV 18 story on the incident yesterday.
 

Now police sorurces clai, that a ‘second FIR’ was lodged Sunday under IPC section 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) following a complaint by Umar’s family members.  The first FIR lodged (despite the fact that a human being had been brutally killed) was under The Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, against the alleged cow smugglers on Friday.

The PUCL, a reputed human rights body has accused policemen from the Ramgarh thana (Alwar) also of the murder and also trying to destroy evidence of the killing by throwing Umar’s body to the railway track. PUCL issued the release after speaking to one Sahir who is an eye witness and who escaped, somehow the bloody attack. The Indian Express has also quoted Alwar’s Meo Panchayat chief, Sher Mohammad alleging that the cow vigilantes killed Umar and then threw his body at the railway tracks to make it look like an accident.

 
Photographs of the dead Ummar shared by his family and one survivor are testimony to the ghastly levels that the perpetrators have gone to commit the act.
 
The PUCL press note says that, ” The murder of Umar is the complete failure of the Vasundhara Raje Government in protecting Muslims in particular Dairy farmers from the Killer Gaurakshaks. However in this case it was the bullet of the Ramgarh police that killed him and then the police tried to destroy evidence by throwing his body on the railway track. The present state of his body shows the brutality that the police and the so called Gaurakshaks can indulge in.”
 
The rights body has demanded of the immediate lodging of an FIR against the so called Gaurakshaks and the Ramgarh police. “Nothing short of arrest of the above including  one Rakesh whose name was given by Sahir who escaped the bloody madness of the police and  the Gaurakshaks” says the press note.

 Meo Panchayat leaders in protest on Sunday: Photo Kavita Srivastava

Compensation including  cash of 25 lakhs and land to the family has also been demanded as also protection for th lone survivor of the incident and a compensation of Rs 10 lakhs. There are also specific demands fromt he government regarding the local police: that the Ramgarh SHO be dismissed from duty and the SP Alwar be suspended for failing to prevent this incident and worse, for not locating the body for two days. Finally says the human rights body, it is time that the state’s home minister announce a comprehensive plan for the protection of meos in Alwar and Bharatpur districts.
 
Rajasthan has seen a spurt of such killings of cattle farmers all in the name of cow protection.
In an attempt to the turn the story around and making it an issue of cow smuggling, the SP Alwar told the Indian Express, “Not much is clear at this moment. A vehicle belonging to cattle smugglers was found abandoned at about 6 am on Friday under the jurisdiction of Alwar’s Govindgarh police station,” Alwar SP Rahul Prakash said.

Depth of Hatred Evident in the Crimes (Photos Shared by Kavita Srivastava)

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File Photo

The police have cleared the six men – three of whom are linked to Hindu right-wing organisations – based on the statements by the staff of a cow shelter as well as mobile phone records, according to the investigation report that Hindustan Times has read.

The staff of the cow shelter, Rath Gaushala, has maintained that the six — Om Yadav (45), Hukum Chand Yadav (44), Sudhir Yavad (45), Jagmal Yadav (73), Naveen Sharma (48) and Rahul Saini (24) were present on their premises, which was about four-km from the attack site. Rath Gaushala is patronised by Jagmal Yadav.

According to the police report,, “calll record details of the six people along with Base Transceiver Station (BTS) location of mobiles further support this.”

Read the full report on Hindustan Times.
 

The post Rajasthan police close case against Hindu right-wing men named by Pehlu Khan before his death appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Dear Ms. Vasundhara Raje,

We are very disturbed by the lynching and murder of Pehlu Khan in Alwar . He was attacked on April 1st at Behror in Alwar District and died of the injuries a few days later. We are also dismayed by the acts of omission and commission of the government following the incident, including the delay and marked reluctance in arresting all those guilty of the act.

You are aware of the fact that Pehlu Khan and four others were returning to Haryana from Rajasthan with the cows they had bought, and the necessary documents corroborating the fact that the purchase had no relationship with cow slaughter. Cows of a well-known breed of milch cattle were being transported from a cattle fair in Rajasthan to their village in Haryana.

While one may have strongly differing sentiments on the importance of cows, and their slaughter or consumption, the killing of Pehlu Khan by an arbitrary self- appointed group of vigilantes shows us how much we have succeeded in undermining the most basic principles and values on which we have based our nation. This kind of vigilantism if not checked will lead to large scale violence, brazen disregard for the rule of law, and the complete disregard of constitutional provisions, the preservation of which is a fundamental responsibility of any democratic government.

The act of lynching is in itself a mindless and horrifying act, and yet the perpetrators have not been promptly and legally dealt with. The post facto delays and inefficiencies reflect on the inefficacy of government. Vigilantism must be seen as a serious threat to law and order and peoples’ lives and the government must act strongly and immediately.

There has been a reprehensible attempt on the part of certain people in authority in Rajasthan as well as in the Union government to deny this horrific incident, or to minimise its gravity. Other authority figures, whose duty it was to make on example of the perpetrators of this crime, have made themselves complicit by their inaction and silence.

In this context, we would urge that the FIRs registered in regard to this incident and the dying statement of Pehlu Khan be acted on decisively. The culprits must be arrested to restore the faith of the victims’ families and their communities in the system of justice in the country. The failure to take immediate action at this juncture will amount to a mockery of good governance and the rule of law, and will inevitably lead to anarchy.

We are sure you will appreciate the urgency and importance of your public statement and action in this matter, and restore the confidence in the government of Rajasthan by:

· Arresting all those who attacked Pehlu Khan.

· Ending all vigilantism in the name of cow protection.

· Punishment of police/administrative personnel for dereliction of duty.

Yours sincerely,

Arun Kumar, Aruna Roy, Bhupindar Singh Lamba, Brij Kishore, Brijesh Kumar, DT Joseph, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, J Vasudevan, Kamal Kant Jaswal, Komal Anand, Lalit Mathur, MG Devasahayam, Mihir Kumar Moitra, Mohan Kanda, Narendra Singh Sisodia, Ravi Sawhney, SS Meenakshisundaram, Shanti N Kakar, Surendra Kumar Pachauri, Sushil Chandra Tripathi, Uma Pillai, Vivek Kumar Agnihotri, Wajahat Habibullah.
 
 

The post “Very disturbed” by lynching of Pehlu Khan: Former IAS officers letter to Rajasthan CM appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The organisations which have issued the appeal published below include: Rajasthan Nagrik Manch, PUCL, CPI (M), CPI, NFIW, AIDWA, WRG, Vividha, National Muslim Women’s Welfare Society, BGVS, MKSS, Suchna Evam Rozgar Adhikar Manch, JIH, Dr. Ambedkar Vichar Manch, CDR, AIDMAM, Welfare Party of India, Jan Vichar Manch, Samajwadi Party, JD (U), SIO, SFI, Rajasthan Smagra Sewa Sangh, HRLN, Samta Gyan Vigyan Manch, All India Kisan Sabha, NAPM, WRG, Vividha, SDPI, RUWA, Zari Workers Union and others.

JAIPUR CHALO!! JAIPUR CHALO!!

DEMANDING JUSTICE IN THE MATTER OF LYNCHING OF PEHLU KHAN AT BEHROR, ALWAR

Friends,

As you are aware that 55 year old Pehlu Khan a dairy farmer from Nuh, Mewat district in Haryana was lynched by a group of so called Gaurakshaks on NH 8 at Behror, Rajasthan, when he was returning with four others, including his 2 sons, in 2 pick up trucks, after buying a few cows (along with the documents) from the fair in Hatwara, near Jaipur city.

At about 6.30pm on the 1st of April, their vehicles were stopped and they were pulled out of their vehicles and beaten up brutally by a mob and later Pehlu Khan succumbed to his injuries on the 3rd of April at Kailash hospital in Behror. Azmat who was critically injured was harassed by the police in the name of investigations, that he too was not given proper treatment and even today he remains seriously sick and in a state of trauma.

Pehlu khan a dairy farmer was charged by the police of trafficking cows that day and the police booked all 5 of them under section 5 and 8 of the Rajasthan Bovine law. They were allowed to go home after the death of Pehlu Khan. Pehlu Khan’s FIR was also lodged against the attackers, despite the fact that the crime was so serious they were booked under simple bailable sections, except for sec 308 of the IPC, abetment to homicide, not attempt to murder. However, after the death of Pehlu Khan it was converted to sec 302 of the IPC.

To date only five people have been arrested. But not the six who were named in the FIRs. They are being completely protected by the police. We are told that the main accused are not being arrested as they are a part of the Bajrang Dal, VHP and RSS and are professionals and work as either college teachers, nurses and two are also student leaders. It is imperative that they be arrested.

We were also informed that in order to put pressure on the family of Pehlu Khan, the Haryana police has made Irshad the son of Pehlu Khan an accused in a 2011 case of trafficking of cows, police station Tauru in Mewat.

The Rajasthan Chief Minister has not cared to open her mouth on this serious crime in the State. Eighteen days have passed. Initially it was the election campaign period of the Dholpur bypoll and that speaking on this issue maybe politically incorrect for her, we were told. But now that the by polls have been won despite the lynching and death of Pehlu Khan, it does not matter anymore as such issues in no way affects their image with their supporters instead helps them polarise and consolidate the “Hindu” vote even more.

The State Home Minister who spoke to the media soon after the death of Pehlu Khan, instead of assuring the public that fair investigation would happen and the Gau Rakshaks would be behind bars, glorified the Gau Rakshaks and said that they have done a good job except that they should not have been so brutal with Pehlu Khan and not taken the law in their hands.

Groups in Alwar and Jaipur have been protesting from day one. Meetings have happened with the police SP in Alwar, the DG police and the Chief Secretary. On the 10th and the 17th  public protests were also organised and memorandum presented to the CMO, as the CM was not there on both days.

Some members of the family of Pehlu Khan came to Jaipur on the 17th of April with the hope of meeting the CM and sharing their side of the story, which they felt the police had
not given them a fair chance, but were disappointed.

The lynching of Pehlu Khan is not the first case in Rajasthan. In Bharloki, Khimsar Tehsil, Nagaur, Abdul Gaffar Qureshi was lynched on the 30th of May, 2015 which led to his death, following rumours of Muslims having consumed beef after slaughtering cows, when it was completely wrong as the evidence showed.

Similarly, in Rajsamand in October 2016, the Banjaras were beaten up badly by Gaurakshaks for buying cows in Rajasamand, despite having all the required documents, then it took several public protests to get them arrested. Similarly, Hotel Hayat Rabbani was shut down on 19th March, following a conspiracy between the police, the Nagar Nigam at the Mayoral level and the gau rakshaks, led by a Kamal didi, where they spread a rumour that the hotel staff served beef. The hotel remains shut even today.

In this context several groups in Rajasthan have decided that till national pressure is not brought on the Vasundhara Raje Government, Pehlu Khan will not get justice.

That is why the three day Dharna has been planned outside the Vidhan Sabha from the 24th to 26th of April.

It is important that the 200 legislators discuss this issue and the government give a reply to our demands.

Apart from the arrest of the attackers the demands consisted of the following”
·          End all vigilantism in the name of a cow now.
·          SHO Behor Police Station, be suspended with immediate effect and the SP of Alwar be removed. There was a failure of due diligence.
·         Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria , should resign on moral and ethical grounds for openly glorifying and lauding the criminals.
·         Azmat Khan be shifted to a good hospital in the vicinity in Gurgaon.
·         Rs. One Crore be compensated to nearest kin of Pehlu Khan
·         All the injured be provided with Rs. 25 lakh for rehabilitation and recovery.
·         All FIRs against Pehlu Khan and his family members and fellow travellers be closed.
·      A single window access to all documents required when transporting cows from one state to another.
·      Hotel Hyatt Rabbani should be reopened immediately.

DATES OF DHARNA: 24th to 26th of April, 2017

Venue outside the State Assembly of Rajasthan

Timings 11 am onwards

Contact persons: Basant Haryana: 9887767688, Sumitra Chopra: 9462171994, Sawai Singh: 9413200044, Iqbal Siddiqui: 7737509669, Mukesh Goswami: 9468862200, Sanjay Madhav: 9414073669, Nisha Sidhu: 9414443607, Kavita Srivastava: 9351562965
 

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Image: Indian Express
 
His two sons Irfan (23) and Arif (20) and two other youth, Ajmat (24) and Rafiq (22), were brutally beaten and critically injured. They had purchased cows in Jaipur bazaar and were carrying them to their village/ relatives in two vans when cow vigilante activists, riding motor bikes, stopped their vans, pulled them out, aroused a mob and thrashed them with lathis and sticks. Police came half an hour later, took these five people to Kailash Hospital. On April 3 Pehlu succumbed to injuries while the other four returned home.
 
I visited Behror on April 7 and Jaysinghpur on April 9. For Behror, I took an Alwar bound bus at 10:45 am from Dhaula Kuan, Delhi. The conductor was compassionate. I gave him my book, Soch swavlamban aur Sanskritik Punarjagaran. Following his advice I got down at Kishangarh  at 2 pm and took a tempo to Khairthal.
 
A young school teacher walked with me to the bus stand and got me into the Kotputli bus. I got down at a town where I got the bus to Behror. By my side was sitting a young man Amit Kumar Yadav. He gave me a fairly objective description of the incident and offered to take me to the site on his motor bike in Behror.
 
At 4:30 pm I reached Behror. Amit took me to the flyover on the Delhi-Jaipur highway. Afterwards I sent him home and began talking to nearby shopkeepers, vendors, barber, cobbler. Most people said they were not there on that day.
 
One shopkeeper reflected sensitivity and said that the mob had gathered at both the ends of the flyover. The nearby end where I was standing was the one where a van was stopped and the mob surrounded it. The mob thrashing took place at the other end.
 
A driver said that these were the Bajrang Dal and ‘Gau Rakshak Dal’ activists who did this. A few other people also said that. Fertilizer firm owner Om Vir Yadav said Bajrang Dal activists didn’t mean to kill the cow smugglers, only wanted to teach them a lesson and hand them over to the police. It was by chance that one person died in the public beating, he said. It was a lapse on the part of police who did not intervene in time.
 
From there I went to DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police). He offered me seat and talked for 20 minutes. The DSP said police stopped the van and found that they didn’t have the necessary papers. I said that according to media reports these people were stopped by the cow vigilantes and they had the receipts of purchase of cows. He said ‘gau rakshaks’ provided the information and thereafter the police stopped them.
 
Transferring cows from one state to another requires permission from collector that was not there, the DSP said. I was unable to understand how people in police custody could be beaten up by mob. He said three people had been arrested under section 308.
 
The DSP also mentioned that cow smuggling had been an issue in the region. Last year 36 cow heads were found in Firozpur Jhirka. I said I had not heard of that from any one. Rather, a gruesome incident took place on August 22, 2016 when Zaheeruddin’s family was brutally attacked, his son Ibrahim and daughter-in-law were thrashed to death and daughter and son-in-law were critically injured in Deengerhedi. To this he said it was a very sad thing. I left in sorrow.
           
On April 9, I left home at 7:30 am, took metro to Gurgaon, tempo to Subhash Chowk and then a bus to Nunh. Jan Mohammad and his son met me there at 10:30 am and took me to Jaysinghpur.
 
Pehlu’s home had a sad look and his family was in deep pain. Pehlu’s sons Irshad and Arif looked very young and innocent. So was Rafiq, a thin fellow. They had suffered deadly blows and reached the verge of death, yet they had no sectarian feelings. Irshad said that they had only two vans, which were stopped by the cow vigilantes and thrashed. They lost consciousness; only remember some people saying burn them alive. Police arrived half an hour later and they were taken to hospital. What happened at the other end of the flyover, they had no idea as they had only two vans. When I enquired where their cows were now, he said he didn’t know.
 
We went to Azmat’s home. He was lying on a cot, in almost un-movable condition. His father came from Mathura where he is a maulvi in a mosque. He was in pain but had no bitterness, rather recalled an incident of Jawaharlal Nehru. He explained Azmat’s plight and said that he was bringing cow for his sister who lived in a village in Rajasthan near the state border.
           
The incident reflects unmatched terrorizing power of cow vigilante groups, their networking and close liaison with the police. The cow protection laws have made minorities vulnerable to humiliation, thrashing and killing. They are frightened to keep cows in their homes which is the only source of milk for many of them.
 
Over 99.9% percent Muslims have never killed a cow or a bull. They take as good care of them as any Hindu would do. The tragedy of cows (especially bulls) is not slaughtering but starvation death. Due to the arrival of tractor, harvester and truck, bulls have been rendered jobless. Poor farmers have no capacity to feed useless bulls, while their own children are hungry.  Nor there are forests left to feed the bulls. Hence most bulls and old cows are dying of starvation. No middle class or high class family keep useless bulls in his/ her home.
 
Coupled with this tragedy is the brute display of muscle power by organised youth on Ashtami and Ram Navmi. On April 4 at 5 am I was waiting for an auto-rikshaw near IIT to go to Delhi railway station to catch a train to Aligarh. I saw herds of motorbikes. In quick succession; carrying three people each, at a speed of 100 km per hour. On my return at midnight also I saw similar youths in tens of motor bikes.
 
I checked with the auto drivers, they said that numerous such groups were moving around from temple to temple on 8^th and 9^th days of Navaratri. I realised these riders were part of a well organized network like Bajrang Dal. They would create a frightening atmosphere for anyone.
 
These mobilisations pose a very serious challenge to our culture and polity. A grassroots cultural movement must develop to counter them.
 

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It is further alleged that cadres of organisations belonging to the Shiv Sena and Vishwa Hindu Parishad attacked and looted goods from at least 120 homes in the village forcing residents, mostly Muslim to flee their homes. There were also unconfirmed reports about attacks on women and children too from Rewada Bas too.

There is still an atmosphere of fear and families have fun away from the village.

All this needs investigation urgently. If there are one or two people who slaughtered cows, they should be arrested and dealt with legally as it is banned but why has this spi;t over into violence against all 120 families who have been attacked ?

A formal complaint with the SP Alwar has been filed.

पुलिस अधीक्षक महोदय
अलवर राजस्थान
 
विषय: रेवाड़ा  का बॉस रघुनाथ गढ़  नौगाम १२० घरों मैं तोड़ फोड़ के सन्दर्भ मैं
श्रीमान  जी
आज दिनांक १६ सितंबर २०१६ को हम सामाजिक संगठन के लोगों ने कुछ पत्रकारों के साथ उपरोक्त विषय के अन्तर्गत घटना स्थल का दौरा किया।  घटना स्थल पर मौकाए वारदात के गवाहों और पंचायत के सरपंच और मौजूद लोगों से बात करने के उपरांत हम उपरोक्त घटना के बारे मैं आपके सामने निम्न लिखित कुछ बिंदुओं पर आपका ध्यान आकर्षित करना चाहते हैं

१.  रेवाड़ा  का बॉस रघुनाथ गढ़  नौगाम १२० घरों मैं तोड़ फोड़ लूट पाट कुछ संघ के संघठनों के द्वारा पुलिस की मौजूदगी मैं करवाई गयी जिसकी जांच तुरंत की जाये और दोषियों ( संघ के कार्यकर्ता तथा पुलिसकर्मी )  के खिलाफ करवाई की जाये

२. घटना स्थल पर सैकड़ों घरों मैं तोड़ फोड़ तथा लूट हुयी है जिसकी वजह से वहां रहने वालों का बहुत नुकसान हुआ है. इसका तुरंत आंकलन करके उचित मुआवज़ा दिया जाये

३. ३६ गायों का गला काटने की निन्दनिये घटना और उनको ज़मीन मैं दबा देने की घटना की जांच मैं सारे पहलुयों  को जोड़ कर देखने की ज़रुरत है.. इस्लाम में इस तरह की क़ुरबानी की कोई परंपरा नहीं है और इस घटना से पहले कभी भी इस तरह का उद्धरण  सामने नहीं आया जहाँ क़ुरबानी के नाम पर गाला काट कर मिटटी मैं किसी जानवर को दबा दें. हमने यह सन्देह पूर्ण लगता है इस लिए इसके सारे पहलुओं को देखा जाये. कहीं ऐसा तो नहीं के  मुद्दों से भटकने के लिए कुछ असामाजिक तत्व ऐसा कर रहे हैं.

४. इस प्रकरण मैं जिन बेगुनाह लोगों को पकड़ा गया है उन्हें फौरेन  रिहा किया जाये. और रेवाड़ा  का बॉस रघुनाथ गढ़ के रहने वाले लोग जो डर से गांव छोड़ कर भाग गए हैं उन्हें सुरक्षा देकर फ़ौरन गांव मैं वापस बसाया जाये
भवदीय

शबनम हाश्मी , रमजान चौधरी , नूर मुहम्मद
9811807558, 9813124386, 9413304746

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