The Quint reported how a 58-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq’s was lynched and killed by a mob on 28 September, accusing him of cow slaughter. A BJP MP has tried to brush aside the incident, calling it the result of a “misunderstanding”. But accounts from those who were present that night, and similar events in nearby villages, point to a well planned attack.
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Communal Sponsors
An investigation by the Indian Express explains why the lynching of a 58-year-old man in Bisahara village has not shocked anyone in Dadri. A relatively unknown organisation called Samadhan Sena, that set shop in June, has been creating trouble with having Muslim shops in Hindu areas, loudspeakers in Mosques, and cow slaughter, leaving a trail of communal incidents within a 10 kilometre radius around Bisahara.
According to the Indian Express report, the son of the Jarcha Village Pradhan was attacked by a mob for opening a shop on “Hindu land”, and three other men were lynched by a mob for alleged cattle smuggling in the last two months.
Rumours were reportedly in circulation about cow slaughter in the Bisahara village since 16 September.
The Announcement
The rumours culminated in an announcement which certain speakers at Bisahara’s Bada Mandir (Big Temple) made on 28 September. It was 10:30 pm in the night, most residents were getting ready for bed. They were suddenly interrupted by news of an incident of cow slaughter, and how a carcass was found near a transformer. Residents are divided over whether the announcement identified Mohammad Akhlaq as the culprit.
The announcement was made by a priest who was first seen in the village only three months ago. The priest has claimed that he was forced to make the announcement by two young men.
The priest has told us that he has seen the two young men in the village quite a few times. They had forced the priest to make such an announcement on the loudspeaker. The priest and the two young men are the key link in the entire episode.
— Sanjay Singh, Superintendent of Police (Rural)
The priest was questioned by the police, but has not been formally arrested yet. The police believes that the priest and these two men, who are yet to be traced, could link the entire episode.
Crowd on Call?
Mohammad Akhlaq’s daughter told The Quint that she could hear some announcement being made, even when the angry mob started beating down her door. More than a hundred people swarmed the 3-feet-wide lane leading to the house, and within minutes lynched Mohammad Akhlaq, nearly killed his 22-year-old son Danish, and assaulted and molested his mother, wife and daughter.
Mob With a Purpose
Apart from the extraordinary speed with which the mob assembled, they were also well prepared. Akhlaq’s family claims that the men were armed with hockey sticks and batons. The quick assembly and preparation point to a pre-meditated attack, as opposed to a mass uprising by a majority community.
Speaking to The Quint, Garima, whose two brothers have been arrested for Akhlaq’s murder, insists that the two were at home when he was murdered. While the plea of innocence is along expected lines, she does make an interesting point when she says that it was so dark that one couldn’t tell whether all the men who were part of the mob were in fact from the village.
Who can say with certainty that the men were not from outside the village? It was so dark and you simply couldn’t tell one face from another. Bheed ne mara Akhlaq ko, mere bhaiyon ka koi kasoor nahi hai.
— Garima, Resident, Bisahara
What also remains unexplained is why the mob targeted only one of the two Muslim houses in the village.
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