In a case dating back to September, a Muslim man was beaten to death in Uttar Pradesh’s Bhagpat district after which four Hindu men were arrested.
The victim identified as Dawood Ali Tyagi was lying on a cot speaking over the phone at the time of the incident. At around 10:15 pm a total of 17 men arrived at his residence on bikes. They began attacking Tyagi with sticks, rods, and cycle chains without caring to explain.
In a short while, the cot was filled with blood and Tyagi lay on it without speaking a word. The attackers fled the scene firing and raising slogans of Jai Sri Ram. Tyagi’s daughter Lubna, who watched him being beaten mercilessly from behind the door came out running and crying.
The man was shifted to a local hospital, where he died the next day. “I was shouting save my father, save my father. Blood was pouring out. He didn’t say anything, he died the next day” Lubna was quoted as saying by BBC Hindi.
The defence lawyers reportedly argued that the accused reacted to what Tyagi did. However, Lubna said her father was only lying on the cot, questioning the reason for her father’s death. In its statement, Bhagpat police said that the accused had no idea who Tyagi was, nor did they know his religious identity.
“So far no animosity has been identified,” Superintendent of Police Neeraj Kumar Jadoun was quoted as saying by the BBC.
Dawood was a small farmer, whose death gave rise to tensions in the village. The victim’s son Shahrukh who is a student at Jamia Milia Islamia University said, “Administrative officers were in touch with me. The police assured us to investigate and arrest the accused and accept our demands. I felt it right that the body would be cremated peacefully after post-mortem. Don’t spoil the atmosphere. That’s what we did while doing it.”
The police assured Shahrukh of investigating the case and arrested four of the 17 accused within two days of the incident, while 13 of them are on the run.
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