2 more suspects held after murder over beef eating

Villagers stopping Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from entering Bisara village on Saturday.

New Delhi - Initially stopped at village border, Kejriwal manages to meet Akhlaq's family

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By AFP, IANS

Published: Sun 4 Oct 2015, 9:46 PM

 Police on Saturday arrested two more suspects in a mob murder of a Muslim man over rumours he had eaten beef, as debate mounted over communal intolerance under the Hindu nationalist government.
Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, was dragged from his house on the outskirts of the capital and beaten to death by around 100 people on Monday night over suspicions he had eaten beef - a taboo in the Hindu-majority nation.
Akhlaq's 22-year-old son was also seriously injured in the attack in Bisada village in Uttar Pradesh state and has been undergoing treatment at a nearby hospital.
"Total eight main accused (have been) arrested out of 10 named ones," A. Satish Ganesh, a senior police official for Uttar Pradesh said in a text message, without giving any further details.
Police arrested six other suspects on Wednesday.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday met the bereaved family of Mohammad Akhlaq. The Aam Aadmi Party leader was allowed to meet the 50-year-old man's widow and mother after he waited patiently for about four hours at a guest house after being initially barred by police from reaching Bisara village.
Kejriwal's motorcade was halted after many Hindu women took to the streets protesting against the alleged bias of the media and officialdom following the September 28 night killing. Some of the demonstrators pelted stones.
After meeting the family of the victim, one of whose sons is in the Indian Air Force (IAF), Kejriwal said: "This incident is unfortunate and completely against humanity."
Targeting other political parties, Kejriwal said: "Neither Hindus nor Muslims benefited (from the killing). Only political parties and their leaders took advantage of the incident.
"One party wants to make Hindus its vote bank, while another is eyeing Muslim votes by poisoning relations between Hindus and Muslims," he told reporters in the village, a clear reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party and Uttar Pradesh's ruling Samajwadi Party.
Earlier in the day, over 500 Hindu women blocked roads leading to the village. They took out a procession, claiming journalists and politicians were biased in favour of the victim's community.
Some of the villagers attacked the vehicles of a few journalists. Kejriwal spent about half an hour in the village and listened to the woes of the Hindu families as well.
He wanted to know why he and his colleagues were stopped by police and the administration when union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma as well as Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi were allowed to enter the village on Friday. "Why me? I am most peace loving," Kejriwal tweeted.

A village woman stopping Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leaders Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh from entering Bisara villag, in Dadri on Saturday. — PTI
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AFP, IANS

Published: Sun 4 Oct 2015, 9:46 PM

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