Hours after he was booked on charges of cow slaughter, a Muslim trader was beaten to death allegedly by a Hindutva mob in Pachpedwa police station area of Balrampur district on 6 August. According to the police, residents of Motinagar village claimed to have discovered some pieces of beef in the fields. Some of them, led by Hindutva organisations, complained to the police. Police lodged an FIR on charges of cow slaughter against Shazir, 45, a resident of neighbouring Bargadwa Saif village, and two other Muslims from Motinagar village. Shazir then went to a friend’s place in neighbouring Manoharapur, about 3 km away. However, a mob attacked the house where Shazir was staying and caught him as he tried to escape. He was beaten up severely and died on way to a hospital in Pachpedwa town in the night.
DELHI ARCHBISHOP CALLS FOR JUSTICE AFTER NEW ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS
The archbishop of New Delhi has urged authorities to take more effective measures in combating religiously motivated violence in the wake of an attack on a Christian church in the north Indian state of Haryana. Vandals damaged two school buses parked in the compound of St. Francis Xavier Church in Rohtak district on 6 August. In a statement, Archbishop Anil J. Couto expressed concern over this attack and other incidents.
“Reports of other attacks on Christian pastors and prayer groups are very disturbing and we request local authorities to take adequate measures to bring to book the miscreants threatening to weaken the social fabric of this great nation,” the statement read. He was referring to an attack on a group of pastors belonging to the Pentecostal Church in Sonepat district of the same state last year.
SC ORDERS STATUS QUO IN HARYANA GURDWARAS
The Supreme Court on 7 August ordered status quo on control of gurdwaras in Haryana and directed the state’s director general of police to ensure that there were no untoward incidents. The fight to control gurdwaras in Haryana erupted between the newly-created Haryana State Gurdwara Management Committee and the Amritsar-based Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee after the assembly enacted a law giving management control to the state body.
Though attorney general Mukul Rohatgi had given an opinion to the Centre terming the Haryana law unconstitutional, the state went ahead with implementation of the new law. The situation reached a flashpoint on 6 August when members of HSGMC tried to forcibly take control of gurdwaras in the state.
‘RPSC CHAIRMAN BEING TARGETED AS HE IS A MUSLIM’
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on 5 August accused the state BJP government of targeting and “scaring” the Rajasthan Public Services Commission (RPSC) chairman Habib Khan Gauran since the latter belonged to the minority community. Azad asked why the BJP was not demanding the removal of Gauran’s counterpart in Madhya Pradesh where too instances of question-paper leaks have happened of late. He suggested that Rajasthan under BJP could be going the Gujarat and MP way in targeting the minority community.
The Congress leader, who is known to be close to former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, was scathing in his attack on the BJP for the ongoing controversy on the RPSC chairman’s alleged role in the question-paper leaks and the blow the commission’s reputation has suffered in past few months.
POLICE STATIONS HAVE ‘SETTLEMENT’ FEVER, SAY VICTIMS
The raid on a Khar policeman on 4 August, in which the accused escaped, has highlighted the practice of “settlement” rampant at various police stations. Several complainants said when they approached the police, the cops initially suggested they ‘settle’ the issue. Many complainants reportedly said senior officers were often unaware of activities at the police station level. A developer who was being threatened by his partners for a bigger share of property approached a police station last year. The cops summoned the accused “party” but registered a case against the complainant and put him behind bars. The developer spent a total of five days in lock-up and jail. He got bail only after the issue was brought to the notice of an additional commissioner of police. The investigating officers allegedly received a tidy sum for arresting the developer.
DON’T DISTURB COUNTRY’S SECULAR FABRIC: SC
The Supreme Court on 8 August cautioned non-governmental organisation, Jayati Bharatam, from making allegations that could disturb the country’s secular fabric. Hearing a writ petition filed by the NGO, seeking a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into incidents of conversion of Hindu girls to Islam, the three-judge Bench of Chief Justice R.M. Lodha and Justices Kurian Joseph and Rohinton Nariman said making averments without any supporting material would disturb the country’s secular fabric.
The CJI told counsel Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for the NGO, that “this is a secular State. Don’t try to bring religion into the court. We are also concerned with the matter and you are also saying it is serious. But the colour which you are giving is also concerning us. We are concerned with the law point. You should not do anything or do anything by word of mouth which disturbs peace. We are a secular state and everything should be done that protects the secular fabric. Nobody should do things to disturb the secular fabric.”
‘PERMIT’ MOVE TO TASLIMA HURTS MUSLIMS
The Muslim community in West Bengal has come down severely on the BJP-led Centre for ‘promising’ author Taslima Nasreen to grant resident permit. Ms Nasreen had told the media that Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on 2 August ‘promised’ to extend usual ‘resident permit’ to her. Claiming that the Centre had hurt the Muslim population’s sentiments with this decision, Trinamool Congress MP Idris Ali told the media that Ms. Nasreen has gained popularity only by criticising Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) and writing offensive things about the Islamic religion. Granting her visa would mean encouraging divisive politics in the country, he said.