In a shocking incident, a 35-year-old Muslim man was allegedly lynched on Tuesday in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh on suspicion of theft. The police have reportedly arrested four, and a hunt is on for the three other accused.
The deceased has been identified as Aurangzeb. The superintendent of police in Aligarh city, Mrigank Shekhar Pathak, said that the incident took place in the Mamu Bhanja area under Gandhi Park police station limits in Aligarh district. Shekhar said that the man was beaten up on suspicion of entering a house for theft and was left grievously injured.
“An FIR under IPC Section 302 (murder) was registered at the Gandhi Park police station late on Tuesday night in this connection. We have arrested four people named in the FIR so far and are trying to identify others involved in the incident through available video footage. No one will be spared,” said Shekhar.
In the video of the incident that has surfaced all over the internet, a mob could be seen beating, kicking, and dragging Aurangzeb on the road. On getting the cognizant of the incident, the police sent the deceased to the Malkhan Singh District Hospital for treatment, but he died during the treatment, the police officer said.
On learning about the incident, the deceased’s family members, along with Abdul Hamid Ghosi, chief of the SP’s Aligarh unit, BSP mayoral poll contestant Salman Shahid, and SP leader Ajju Ishaq with their supporters, rushed to the Aligarh district hospital and created a ruckus.
“An innocent Muslim man has been lynched by the Hindu family and others who painted him as a thief, while the fact is that he had mistakenly entered the house owned by Mukesh Mittal. The incident highlights the plight of the minority community under the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh. We have called for a sit-in and will intensify our protest if all those named in the FIR are not arrested soon,” The Indian Express quoted Ajju Ishaq, the SP leader.
Leaders of the Samajwadi and the Bahujan Samaj Party, as well as the victim’s family members, staged a sit-in on Wednesday demanding the arrest of the three other accused.
Meanwhile, Personnel from three police stations have been deployed in and around the spot and more force has been requisitioned in view of escalating tension. Shopkeepers in the Mama Bhanja locality, where the incident took place, and at the Railway Bazar downed shutters on Wednesday in protest.
However, Hindutva group Bajrang Dal, meanwhile, alleged that Farid had entered Mittal’s house with intent to steal and that the crowd’s response was “a normal reaction”.
