Minorities panel sends notice on Dadri lynching

Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday said the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq, following rumours he had stored beef in his house, is an issue “to which communal colour must not be added.”

Mr. Singh’s appeal came even as it emerged that the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has served a show cause notice on the district magistrate of Gautam Buddh Nagar on the incident. Dadri, the area where the incident occurred, falls within this district in Uttar Pradesh.

The notice was sent on September 30 after a request by Congressman Shehzad Poonawalla. The NCM has given the magistrate seven days to respond.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs, apart from one statement from senior minister Najma Heptullah, reiterating that the report of the State Government to the Home Ministry was awaited, maintained a studied silence.

Her party colleague and controversial MP from Unnao, Sakshi Maharaj, termed the compensation given to the lynching victim’s family by the Uttar Pradesh government, an “appeasement.”

The Dadri lynching
» In Dadri’s Bishara village on September 28, a 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq was lynched and his son Danish (22) was brutally beaten up as punishment for allegedly eating beef on Eid and ‘storing it’ for later consumption.
» A riot-like situation gripped the sleepy village, a little over 40 km from the bustling sub-city of Noida, near Delhi, on September 29, when their relatives were barred from participating in the funeral procession.
» It was mutton, said the slain man’s mother Asgari Begum.
» The Uttar Pradesh government on September 30 ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident and also announced a compensation of Rs.10 lakh for the family of the victim.

The Centre has also sent an advisory to the State to keep a check on incidents of communal violence.

UP launches probe into killing over beef.As the rumour spread, villagers blocked a highway in Bisrakh area on September 29, demanding death penalty for those involved in the slaughter.

He said that no “communal colour” should be given to it, even as the family of the victim is planning to move out of the village fearing that it may happen again.

Later on the Chief Minister had announced an increase in the financial assistance for the family from Rs. 10 lakh to Rs. 20 lakh.

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Source:thehindu