India: Muslim man killed by mob after being accused of eating beef
A 50-year-old Muslim man was beaten to death in a village in India after rumors that he would have eaten beef, banned practice among Hindus, said Wednesday the police arrested six people.
Mohammad Akhlaq was dragged out of his house, in the village of Dadri about forty kilometers west of New Delhi, and assaulted by a crowd of a hundred people Monday night, said a police official of district.
“When our team arrived at the scene, a crowd had gathered outside his house (of the victim). The police managed to extract it to take him to hospital but could not be saved,” said the official Kiran S.
“We have arrested six people and deployed additional staff to prevent further consequences.”
The son of Akhlaq, aged 22, was seriously injured in the attack and is in intensive care in hospital.
Killing a cow is prohibited in most states of India, with a Hindu majority country which also houses important Muslim minorities (13%), Catholic and Buddhist.
In March, the state of Maharashtra had hardened its legislation banning beef detention. This decision has been interpreted by religious minorities as a sign of a growing influence of Hindu extremists since the arrival of Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist in power.
The rumor that the family of the victim had eaten beef emerged after the disappearance of a calf in the village.
“The announcement was made in a temple as the family consumed beef and the crowd then landed in the man’s home,” says Kiran.
