The houses of two Muslim men identified as Jaffar Khan and Asghar Khan booked under the National Security Act (NSA) for alleged possession of beef were demolished in Noorabad village of Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district by the authorities.
The incident took place three days after a complaint by a Bajrang Dal member named Dileep Singh Gurjar who created a ruckus demanding the demolition of houses and the invocation of the NSA in the case.
At least six people have been arrested in the case so far.
On June 21, the police seized meat, allegedly beef and cow skin, from Jaffar and Asghar’s houses located in the Bengali Colony, an official said.
Complainant Gurjar alleged he saw some people slaughtering a cow and when he opposed it, he was attacked. The police arrested four persons including two women on the same day. A minor was also detained.
The police registered a case under the MP Anti-Cow Slaughtering Act, Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and Indian Penal Code provisions for rioting, assaulting and intimidation. Cow slaughter attracts a jail sentence of up to seven years in MP.
Siasat.com received no response while trying to contact Morena’s superintendent of police and other officials.
On June 16, eleven Muslim houses built on government land were demolished in tribal-dominated Mandla in Madhya Pradesh as part of action against the alleged illegal beef trade in the state.
Earlier in February, the human rights organisation Amnesty International had called on the Union and state governments to immediately halt “unlawful demolitions” of Muslims’ homes, businesses, and places of worship through the use of JCB bulldozers and other machines.
The de-facto policy of demolishing people’s homes as a form of extra-judicial punishment has become prevalent in the country over the last few years.
