A 45-year-old man was beaten to death and another was injured allegedly over rumors of cow slaughter at Pilakhua in Hapur district of western Uttar Pradesh on Monday evening.
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.
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.
Locals alleged that an announcement was made from a local place of worship at Bajhaida Khurd, about smugglers stealing cows and slaughtering them.
These allegations are yet to be investigated by the police.
As against the claims by the victims’ families and villagers, the local administration presented the case to be that of a road rage.
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.
According to Bajhaida Khurd villagers, a mob ran towards a farm following rumours of some people smuggling cows from farm lands for the purpose of cow slaughter.
The mob went towards the village in 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.
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.
Villagers confront each other
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.
SP Hapur Sankalp Sharma, however, rejected the allegation that rumours of cow slaughter was the basis of the attack and lynching.
“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,” Mr. Sharma said.
“This has nothing to do with cow slaughter rumours. Police are investigating the matter and we will take strict action against the culprits,” he added.
