The day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on mob lynchings in the name of 'gau bhakti' (cow worship) stating that it was not acceptable, a man in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district was beaten to death for allegedly carrying beef.
Alimuddin alias Asgar Ansari was beaten to death on Thursday for allegedly carrying "banned meat" in a van, police said. Reports state that a group of people stopped Ansari near Bajartand village and brutally attacked him. His van was also set on fire, according to police.
When authorities were alerted about the beating, police personnel rescued him and rushed him to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries during the treatment.
"It's premeditated murder," Additional Director General of Police R.K. Mallik said.
PM Modi, while addressing the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Shrimad Rajchandraji, Gandhi's guru, at the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad, said that Mahamata Gandhi would not approve of such mob lynchings.
"Today I want to say a few words and express sadness on some of the things going on. As a society, there is no place for violence. Killing people in the name of 'gau bhakti' is not acceptable. This is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve," Modi said.
"We are the land of Mahatma Gandhi. Why do we forget that?" the Prime Minister said. "No person in this nation has the right to take the law into his or her own hands in this country. Violence never has and never will solve any problem."
Modi's remarks on Thursday were significant considering the Prime Minister and his government have been accused of maintaining silence about the violence inflicted by cow vigilantes.
More than five Muslim men have been killed by angry crowds in the honour of cows. The lynchings were reported in Jaipur and Alwar in Rajasthan, Ballabhgarh in Haryana and Jamshedpur in Jharkhand.
Thursday's incident in Jharkhand was a second such occurrence in the lash three days. A mob had thrashed a person and set his house on fire in Giridih district after they found a cow's head near his house.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his speech, however, said that cows should be protected as no one spoke about their protection more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave.
"Let's all work together. Let's create the India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams. Let's create an India our freedom fighters would be proud of," Modi said on Thursday.
