Mob beats Muslim farmer to death with sticks over rumour he was eating beef

Villagers beat a Muslim farmer to death and severely injured his son after hearing rumours  the family was eating beef — a taboo for many among India’s majority Hindu population. The mob of about 60 Hindus dragged 52-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq and his son from their home in a village near New Delhi and beat them with sticks and bricks. Mr Akhlaq was declared dead at a nearby hospital, while his son was being treated for serious injuries. Police arrested eight people and were searching for two more.

They announced our family had slaughtered a cow in the village, and that provoked people to attack our home.

Victim’s brother Jan Mohammad Saifi

The villagers became incensed when a temple announced that the family was slaughtering cows and storing the beef in their house in Bisara. The family say they only had mutton in their fridge. Mr Akhlaq’s 46-year-old brother, Jan Mohammad Saifi, said: “My brother was singled out. Why were we targeted? We don’t eat beef,” he said, blaming a local hard-line Hindu organization for inciting the violence. When police arrested the suspects, a group of protesters attacked the officers and their vehicles, forcing police to open fire, injuring one 20-year-old man. Tensions had been building in the village, where nearly 40% of the 1,500 residents are Muslim, after some Hindus complained that their cows and buffaloes were going missing

This horrific killing shows this meat bigotry has gone out of control

Opposition lawmaker Shashi Tharoor

Asia-Pacific