Dadri/Lucknow, Oct 2: As tension simmered in Bishada where a man was lynched on Monday night over allegedly eating beef, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma today sought punishment for those guilty without "victimising" the innocents, while tough talking AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi said the victim was killed because of his religious persuasion.
Four days after Bishada village on Delhi's outskirts in Uttar Pradesh was rocked by the brutal killing of Mohammed Iqlakh, it witnessed an unending parade of politicians, who sympathised with the victim's family and sought to cool frayed tempers as communal tension smouldered.
Sharma, also the local MP, persisted with his refrain that Iqlakh's bludgeoning to death by the lynch mob was an "accident" which should not be given a communal colour and over which there should be no politics.
"It is a blot on our culture and such incidents do not have a place in a civilised society. If somebody says it was pre-planned, I don't agree with it. It is an accident and it should be probed by CBI or state and guilty should be punished.
Innocents should not be victimised in the name of investigation," Sharma, Minister of State for Tourism and Culture said at Bishada where he consoled the bereaved family.
Owaisi, who too paid a visit to the distraught family, could not disagree more when he described the killing as "a pre-planned murder", actuated by the victim's religious persuasion.
The sharp-tongued Hyderabad MP attacked both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the state's Samajwadi Party government for the incident that has triggered a nation-wide outrage.
"We had expected that the least the Prime Minister, who talks of 'sabka saath-sabka vikas' (inclusivity)', would tweet to condole Iqlakh's murder.
"Yesterday, he had tweeted to condole famous singer Asha Bhosale's son's death. The 'sabka saath-sabka vikas PM' should have at least sent his condolences in a tweet if he believes in pluralism and upholding of law," he said.
As political rivals locked horns over the incident, Bishada continued its uncomfortable tryst with media spotlight, while remaining under the protective shadow of the gun.
Contingents of Provincial Armed Constabulary and state police were strategically deployed across the village where prohibitory orders banning assembly of five or more people continued to be in force.
District Magistrate M P Singh claimed the situation was under control and reasoned that the incident should be treated as a "solitary case" and not a communal clash as no other Muslim family was affected.
Chiding Sharma for calling Iqlakh's killing an accident, Owaisi said,"Mahesh Sharma is the Culture Minister of the country and it is unfortunate that the minister who has taken oath on the Constitution doesn't have the courage and intellectual honesty to condemn the incident unconditionally."
He rubbished claims that Iqlakh's family was attacked because it had consumed beef. "This attack was not because of meat. The SP government, instead of arresting the murderers, is getting a forensic test done on the meat found at the victim's home. Their mind, which is full of poison, should be examined first. They are treating the victim as accused," he said.
Miles away in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav trained his gun on Modi over a string of contoversies over cow slaughter and beef consumption.
"They want to rake up such issues. These forces talked about pink revolution. We say today you are in power, so ban beef exports. You should build support for banning its export," he said in an apparent reference to Modi, who had in the run-up to last Lok Sabha elections attacked the then UPA government over meat exports, saying it was encouraging "pink revolution".
The Chief Minister said the guilty will not be spared and his government will act with "full honesty".
"A debate is going on all over the country over the incident and I assure you that those responsible for it will not be spared, however strong they might be," he said.
Mahesh Sharma faced some anger from the locals who questioned the delay in visiting the victim's family.
The Minister visited Iqlakh's 22-year-old son Danish, who was critically wounded during the assault, at the hospital where he continues to battle for life. He has undergone brain surgery and is on ventilator.
"Danish is better now but is not completely out of danger. He is responding to verbal commands. His brother also accompanied me. He recognished him and held his hand too. His situation is much better but is not 100 per cent out of damger," Sharma said.
The BJP MP also visited the local temple and met Hindus there who accused the police of acting in a biased way. Sharma said police should investigate the case impartially but not falsely implicate innocent people.
Addressing a gathering at the village, the Minister said the majority Hindus have promised to protect the Muslims.
As the political slugfest over Iqlakh's killing continued, Shivpal Yadav, Samajwadi Party leader and younger brother of its chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, demanded dismissal of Sharma from the Union ministry.
"Mahesh Sharma should be immediately sacked from the Union Cabinet for his statement on Dadri lynching. The PM should also swing into action and give strict directions to prevent such planned incidents," Shivpal, a senior UP minister, told reporters in Lucknow.
Terming the incident as handiwork of BJP and RSS, Yadav said they had orchestrated such incidents in the past too.
"Communal forces - BJP, RSS and Shiv Sena - are trying to vitiate communal atmosphere of the state. They have orchestrated such incidents in the past and are trying to do it again. We are alert, but they do communal politics and have succeeded in their designs sometimes," he said.
"The Dadri incident was planned. They (BJP) are anti-Muslim and it is their habit to do such things," the Samajwadi Party leader said.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamul Congress has questioned the Prime Minister's continued silence on the killing, with its MP Sultan Ahmed demanding that he make a statement on communal incidents in the country and do something to stop RSS and fringe outfits from disrupting communal harmony.
"We want to know why Narendra Modi is silent on the recent killing of a person over rumours of consuming beef. This is nothing but spreading communal poison in the society and disrupting the fabric of the country," Ahmed told reporters.
"Modi keeps on speaking about each and every issue. But he stays mum on various communal incidents. He should speak up in order to stop RSS, VHP from destroying communal peace," he said.
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