Muslim man lynched in Greater Noida: Minority panel seeks report

The Uttar Pradesh government has given Rs.10 lakh as ex- gratia to the family of a Muslim man from a Greater Noida village who was killed by a mob for allegedly killing a cow. The National Commission for Minorities on Wednesday asked the Noida district magistrate to file a report on the incident.

The state government also ordered free treatment of the injured members of the man's family who were admitted to a private hospital in Noida.

"In the meantime, investigation is on to ascertain whether the cow was sacrificed or was it just a rumour," said Gautam Budh Nagar Senior Superintendent of Police Kiran S.

Tension prevailed in Greater Noida area after 50-year-old Afzal, a resident of Bisara, was allegedly dragged from his house and lynched on Monday midnight for sacrificing a cow.

He was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries, police said.

Police said a case was registered against 10 people, of whom six have been arrested.

Following the arrests, irate residents blocked roads and set a police vehicle afire. The agitators also pelted stones at police personnel.

Police had to use force to disperse the mob, and additional personnel have been deployed to maintain peace.

The NCM on Wednesday took up the matter of the killing over alleged rumours that his family was consuming beef and had stored the meat as well, an official said.

Panel chairman Naseem Ahmad spoke to the Noida district magistrate and sought a report on the incident, which the panel described as "cowardly and reprehensible".

In a response to a complaint filed by lawyer Shehzaad Poonawala, the NCM said: "District officials have been asked to send a report on the incident to the NCM at the earliest.

"After receipt of the report, we will be taking up the matter with both the union home minister and Uttar Pradesh chief minister."

The panel also noted that the incident was "communalism in its ugliest manifestation and cannot, and must not, go unpunished in a secular nation".

Poonawala told IANS that "the incident was not only barbaric but also an assault on the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India."