Amid rising incidents of lynching across the nation, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday sparked a row saying that unnecessary importance is being given to such incidents, and cows are also equally valuable.
The Chief Minister’s comment came days after a man was lynched in Rajasthan’s Alwar over suspicion of being a cow smuggler.
On Saturday, Rakbar Khan and his friend Aslam were taking cows to their villages in Haryana through a forest area in Alwar’s Ramgarh, where they were caught by a group of people. While Aslam managed to flee, Rakbar was allegedly thrashed brutally by the group.
“These (lynching) incidents are given unnecessary importance. If you talk about mob lynching, what was 1984? Law and order is a matter of state,” Yogi Adityanath told ANI.
Stating that the government will provide protection to everyone, he said, “It’s responsibility off every individual, every community and every religion to respect each other sentiments. Humans are important and cows are also important. Both have their own roles in nature. Everyone should be protected.”
Attacking Congress party over the issue, he said that their intention to make mountain out of a molehill won’t be successful.
On Tuesday, Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said that according to the evidence they have collected, it looks like Rakbar died in police custody.
A post-mortem report revelled that the victim died of shock caused by his injuries. The autopsy further stated that the 28-year-old victim suffered 13 injuries in total, including eight bruises, two abrasions, a laceration, a fracture in wrist and another in left femur.
The police have arrested three people suspected to be involved in the attack on Khan. An assistant sub-inspector of police has been suspended and three constables sent to the police lines after reports that they had delayed taking him to hospital.
The government has also constituted a panel headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh to formulate appropriate measures and submit a report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The incidents of mob lynching have been on a rise in the country. As per the Ministry of Home Affairs data, 45 people were killed in 40 different cases across nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018.
However, amid a war of words, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi dubbed those raising the issue of lynching as “hypocrites”, saying they have forgotten the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the alleged “lynching of karsevaks” in 2002 that triggered communal riots in Gujarat.
RSS leader Indresh Kumar said if the practice of eating cow meat was stopped, many crimes of the ‘Satan’ could be curtailed, in an apparent reference to the incidents of mob lynching.