Row erupts in Haryana as Oppn takes on govt over lynching

Police in Haryana announced on Saturday they had arrested five men and detained two boys for allegedly lynching a man from West Bengal after accusing him of eating beef, an incident that triggered angry reactions from the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) rivals as the state prepares to elect a new government in a little over a month.

Sabir Malik, 26, from North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal had been living in Hansawas village in Charkhi Dadri with his wife and 2-year-old daughter, working as a ragpicker, and was killed on August 27 by a group of men who had first summoned him on the pretext of handing out plastic waste.

Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini condemned the incident but defended the state’s stance on cow protection. “Mob lynching is not right, but people from villages react when such incidents [purported beef consumption] come to light,” Saini said. “We have enacted a strict law in the state assembly for the protection of cows and there is no compromise on it,” he said, after stating that “cows are revered in the villages here and when people hear about such things, who can prevent what happens”.

Also Read | Haryana CM says Charkhi Dadri murder not 'mob lynching': ‘Who can stop them?’

The incident drew condemnation from rival parties. Jannayak Janata Party (JJP) general secretary Digvijay Singh Chautala criticised the government’s response. “Who has given permission to cow vigilantes to kill a ragpicker?” he asked. “The chief minister has failed to provide safe places to state residents,” said the leader of the party that was an ally of the BJP till March.

Former two-time Badhra MLA and senior Congress leader Ran Singh Mann alleged the CM failed to maintain law and order, adding that cow vigilantes are taking the law in their hands with the backing of the state government.

“There is a deep conspiracy to divide people on caste and religious lines during the Haryana polls. The police should probe the case from all angles and give strict punishment to the culprits,” he added.

The incident is in a long line of such crimes attributed to violent, right-wing extremist vigilante groups that often cite their mission to protect cows to justify violent attacks. Their targets are almost exclusively Muslims.

Also Read | Five arrested in Haryana for lynching man on suspicion of eating beef

The arrested accused were identified as Abhishek, Mohit, Sahil, Ravinder and Kamaljeet, while two minors had been detained.

Badhra police official Bharat Bhushan said the incident occurred on August 27 when cow vigilantes got information that some migrant workers from Assam staying at Hansawas village had allegedly consumed beef, they visited the labourers’ shanties.

“Sabir was also staying in the same village. The cow vigilantes informed the police and our team reached there on August 27. Upon inspection, meat was found in utensils and the labourers claimed that they had cooked meat twice in the last two months. Forensic and veterinary experts inspected the site and meat samples were collected and sent to a laboratory to confirm whether it was beef. Hours later, these youths called Saibir and his aide Asseruddin to a shop in Badhra on the pretext of selling empty plastic bottles. The vigilantes started thrashing them and Asseruddin managed to flee. They took Malik to the nearby Bhandwa village where he died when they assaulted him again,” the DSP added.

The DSP said that a special team has been formed to investigate the case and they are interrogating the accused.

In his complaint to the police, the victim’s brother-in-law Surajuddin Sarkar said three men had visited their shanties on August 27 afternoon, asking Sabir to come along since they had many plastic bottles to sell.

“They assaulted him near Badhra bus stand and later took him to another place. Sabir was found dead near a canal in Bhandwa village. Earlier in the day, police had called my father and I to Badhra police station and we told them that we had not consumed beef. Then, my sister called me and said that Sabir has not returned. We informed the police and my brother-in-law was found dead the same evening,” he said.