Beating boy to death, asking him to chant religious slogans insult to Hinduism: Karan Singh

Terming mob lynching of a boy over chanting religious slogans as an 'insult of Hinduism', veteran Congress leader Karan Singh on Thursday stated that people involved in such acts should be ashamed of calling themselves Hindu.

Addressing a gathering during the launch of a book written by Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, Singh said, "Beating a defenceless boy to death and asking him to say 'Jai Shri Ram' and 'Jai Hanuman' is an insult to not only Hinduism, but it is an insult to the great deities."

"Is this Hinduism? Are the people who have beaten him to death, they have the courage to call themselves Hindu; they should be ashamed of calling themselves Hindu. Anyone who indulges in these sort of things is insulting Hinduism", he added.

Congress leader Singh also stated that Hinduism as a religion is multi-dimensional and believes in inclusivity.

"Hinduism is the oldest continuing religion in the world with about a billion followers around the world. It is multi-dimensional, pluralistic and inclusive and therefore it lends itself to a variety of interpretations," he said.

Singh's statement comes days after the Jharkhand Police had said that the charge sheet against 11 accused persons in Tabrez Ansari lynching case has been filed under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), as the murder case (section 302) could not be made based on the findings of the post-mortem report.

Two months ago, Tabrez was assaulted by a mob on the suspicion of committing a theft in Kharsawan district of Jharkhand. He succumbed to injuries at a hospital four days later.