Mob Of 50 Hindu Extremists Lynch Muslim Man Over False Allegation Of Cow Smuggling
A mob of Hindu extremists lynched Nazir Ahmad, 50, over suspicion of cow smuggling in Maharashtra state. Ahmad and two other Muslim men, Shaikh Lala and Sayed Mushtaq, were transporting 28 cows by a truck when the mob stopped and attacked the vehicle.
“We had hardly travelled 8-10 kilometers when they blocked our road, forced us to come out of the truck, and attacked us without enquiring into anything. They were armed with sticks and rods and killed Ahmad,” said Lala.
He added that they were not planning on slaughtering the cows for meat but were transporting them to sell at a fair.
Congress Party spokesperson Narendra Saluja has tweeted in condemnation of Hindu supremacist cow vigilantism, saying that supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are often complicit in such crimes.
“Reports are coming in, noting that the accused are associated with the ruling BJP,” he tweeted. “Similar incidents are happening across Madhya Pradesh. People of the ruling BJP are taking the law into their own hands and killing people. Police should take strict action against the offenders after conducting a fair investigation into the incident.”
Muslim Journalist Siddique Kappan Denied Bail Despite Innocence; Advocate to Approach Supreme Court
In an overt failure of the justice system, the High Court of Uttar Pradesh state denied bail to Muslim journalist Siddique Kappan, who has been a prisoner of conscience since 2020 despite not having committed any crime.
The Indian government has refused to release Kappan despite his ongoing imprisonment being slammed by human rights bodies and watchdog organizations worldwide, including the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), the Committee to Protect Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and Amnesty International.
Kappan was arrested in October 2020 while travelling to the Hathras region of Uttar Pradesh to report the rape and murder of a teenage Dalit girl by upper-caste Hindu men. Due to his Muslim identity, he was charged under India’s draconian anti-terror laws. In prison, he has faced inhumane treatment, including ruthless beatings, mental torture, and denial of healthcare.
The Kerala Union of Working Journalists, a journalists’ union representing Kappan in court, said in a statement that it would approach the Supreme Court after the disappointing verdict.
“We are hopeful that the Hon. Supreme Court will interfere and uphold the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed to every citizen, particularly to a journalist under part 3 of the Constitution,” the statement said.
Congress Party Demands Accountability For Modi Government’s Weaponization Of Investigative Agencies
Members of India’s opposition parties have slammed the BJP government for weaponizing investigative agencies to crack down on the ruling party’s political opponents and dissenters.
The outrage has remained high after Congress president and prominent opposition leader Sonia Gandhi was questioned by an investigative agency over flimsy allegations of money laundering. The head office of the Congress-owned National Herald newspaper was also raided.
“The raids conducted… [are] yet another instance of the vengeful politicization of Central agencies by the [BJP] government in its attempt to throttle dissent and opposition voices by acting upon fake and trumped up charges,” wrote Congress party leader Kodikkunnil Suresh.
The Congress party has condemned the raids as being part of Modi’s “vendetta politics.”
