Three days after the lynching of a 50-year-old Iqlakh by a mob over rumours of his family having eaten beef or slaughtered a cow, an uneasy calm prevails in the Bisara village of Dadari, Greater Noida, on Thursday with heavy deployment of police force and Muslims contemplating moving out of the area.
Shocked and shaken to the core by the incident, the 50 odd Muslim families now want to move to safer places. The heavy security deployment in the aftermath of the Monday night incident has failed to instill confidence among the villagers who claimed the gruesome incident could have been prevented if police had acted on time.
However, Superintendent of police (Rural) Sanjay Yadav told The Pioneer, “We along with ADM Rajesh Yadav have been camping in the village for the last two days. Situation is normal but the villagers continue to live in fear. We are providing security to the Muslim community and they don’t need to live in fear or migrate from village.”
Asagari - the mother of deceased Ikhlaq - who was also injured in the attack, urged UP Chief Minster Akhilesh Yadav to order a CBI probe into the incident.
“In the last 70 years, no such incident was reported in my village. But whatever happened on Monday night shocked us. The incident was planned as a conspiracy and it should be investigated by the CBI,” she said.
Sartaj, distraught son of Ikhlaq who works in the Indian Air Force, said, “As far as I know, there wasn’t any tension. Everything was normal. I spoke to my father an hour before the incident and asked about his well being. He was suffering from typhoid and his blood pressure was below normal. Rest was fine till then. He was dragged outside the house, obviously neighbours were involved.”
The Centre has, meanwhile, sought a detailed report from the Uttar Pradesh Government on the incident and asked it to ensure that no such incidents recur.
SP (Rural) Sanjay Singh said a priest at the local temple, who made the announcement on the public address system about the family having consumed beef, and two youths, who allegedly forced him to do that, were “major links” to the incident.
“Further interrogation will reveal the exact sequence of events. The victim’s family has alleged it was pre-planned,” he said.