Shocked Muslims plan to quit village after lynching

Shocked and shaken to the core, Muslims of Bishada village on the outskirts of the national capital, where a man was lynched over rumours of his family having eaten beef, are contemplating moving out as the local administration scrambled to stem simmering tension. The Centre has, meanwhile, sought a detailed report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the incident and asked it to ensure that no such incidents recur. Heavy security deployment in the aftermath of the Monday night incident has failed to instill confidence among the 50 odd Muslim families, who unnerved by the killing of 50-year-old Mohammed Iqlakh, want to shift to safer places. Iqlakh was dragged out of his home by a lynch mob of 200 people and beaten to death for allegedly eating beef. "Our lives are in danger. I'm planning to move from here. We will move from here because this can happen again anytime. Who will ensure us that this won't happen again?" said a distraught Sartaj, Iqlakh's son, who serves in the Indian Air Force. The victim's another son, 22-year-old Danish, who was mercilessly assaulted, is recuperating in a hospital. "We will move out to our relatives in Delhi or other states if the situation here deteriorates any further," said Raisuddin, another resident. However, District Magistrate N P Singh claimed the situation in the village is "under control" and the administration is making efforts to maintain order by forming peace committees with representation from both the majority and minority communities. As the situation threatened to spiral out of control following incident, contingents of Provincial Armed Constabulary and reinforcements from adjoining Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr and Hapur had been rushed to the village. Sartaj said his father was suffering from typhoid and had low blood pressure when the mob bludgeoned him to death. He said he was not aware of any tension in the village preceding the incident. "As far as I know, there wasn't any tension. Everything was normal. I spoke to my father an hour before the incident and asked about his well being. He was suffering from typhoid and his BP was below normal. Rest was fine till then. He was dragged outside the house, obviously neighbours were involved," he said.