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Dadri, Oct 2 (PTI): Controversial AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi, who visited the family of the man killed here by a mob over rumours that they had consumed beef, today alleged that he was targeted for his religion and questioned the Prime Minister's "silence".
Owaisi, who heads the Muslim right wing All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), met the wife of deceased Iqlakh this morning and alleged that it was pre-planned murder.
"This wasn't an attack over meat. It was murder over religion to spread politics of hatred of a party. This is a pre-planned, cold-blooded killing. It cannot be an accident.
"This is the thought which is against secularism, it is against the brotherhood of India. It sees Muslims with an eye of suspicion," the Hyderabad MP said.
Owaisi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his "silence" on the issue, saying the he sholld have at least sent his condolences in a tweet if "he believes in pluralism and upholding of law".
"... we were expecting the PM would have at lease sent condolences to Sartaj (victim's son) and condemned it. We were expecting that the PM who says 'sabka saath sabka vikaas' should have condoled at least with a tweet."
The AIMIM leader also hit out at Union Minister and local MP Mahesh Sharma who had termed the attack as an "accident".
"Mahesh Sharma is the Culture Minister of the country and it is unfortunate that the minister who has taken oath on the Constitution doesn't have the courage and intellectual honesty to condemn the incident unconditionally," Owaisi said.
"He and his PM say 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas', then such incidents happen. These words should be put into practice," he said.
He also hit out at the Samajwadi government, saying instead of nabbing the attackers it was "conducting forensic test on a piece of meat and treating the victim as accused".
"They have so much poison in their minds that a person who had died, rather than treating him as a victim, they are treating him as an accused," he said.
Owaisi demanded that the accused be charged with IPC section related to murder and a time-bound trial be held.
He said that he feared that Samajwadi Party government will let the accused go scot-free "as had happened after Muzaffarnagar riots".
Iqlakh was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son Danish was critically injured by a 200-strong mob which barged into their house on Monday night following rumours that the family had consumed beef. Cow slaughter is banned in Uttar Pradesh.
Dadri mob killing: Akhilesh targets PM, challenges him to ban beef exports
As politics heats up over the mob killing of a 50-year-old man in Uttar Pradesh allegedly over rumours that he had eaten beef, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today challenged the Narendra Modi-led government to ban beef exports and reminded him of his stand against "pink revolution."
"Some forces want to vitiate the atmosphere of secularism. They want to rake up such issues. These forces talked about pink revolution. You are in government now, so ban beef exports. You should build support for banning their export," Yadav said at an event in Lucknow in an apparent reference to PM Modi, who had in the run-up to last Lok Sabha elections attacked the then UPA government over meat exports, saying it was encouraging "pink revolution".
Without naming the PM, he said that those who are marketing the country abroad should consider what kind of food is eaten by the people there. "The world where you are roaming, marketing and promoting your country, just think once what kind of food they eat from dawn to dusk," he said.
50-year-old Mohammad Ikhlaq was beaten to death by a mob in Uttar Pradesh's Dadri on the outskirts of Delhi on Monday night. He and his 22-year-old son were dragged from their house by around 100 villagers and beaten with bricks. Ikhlaq's son is critical.
Half an hour before the attack, an announcement was allegedly made at a temple nearby that a calf had been slaughtered and its carcass had been found near a transformer.
No names were taken in the announcement, but there are only two Muslim families in the area and the other family was out.
Killing cows is illegal in Uttar Pradesh.
The police are investigating who started the rumours in a part of western Uttar Pradesh that is prone to trouble at the slightest provocation.
No politics on Dadri incident: Union Minister Mahesh Sharma
As BJP came under intensified attack over the killing of man here over rumour that he had eaten beef, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma today said parties should refrain from playing politics by giving communal colour to the incident and there should be an impartial probe by CBI or the state to punish the guilty.
Sharma, who is also the local BJP MP, visited the family of deceased Iqlakh and stuck to his stand that it was an "accident", soon after controversial AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi met them and alleged that the man was targeted for his religion as part of a "pre-planned" conspiracy.
"It is a blot on our culture and such incidents do not have a place in a civilised society. If somebody says it was pre-planned, I don't agree with it. It is an accident and investigation should happen by CBI or state and guilty should be punished. Innocents should not be victimised in the name of investigation.
"Law should take its course and there should be fair investigation. I condemn any attempt to give political or communal colour to this incident. Such people are neither well wishers of the society nor of the country," Sharma said.
The Minister also held a meeting at the village temple and said Hindu families have promised to protect the Muslim families.
His remarks came as parties stepped up attack on the BJP, alleging that it was trying to polarise the people on religious lines with such incidents.
After meeting the victim's family, AIMIM leader Owaisi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence on the issue, saying the "Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas PM" should have at least sent his condolences in a tweet if "he believes in pluralism and upholding of law".
"This wasn't an attack over meat. He has been killed in the name of religion. This is a pre-planned, cold-blooded killing. It cannot be an accident," he said.
The AIMIM leader also hit out at Union Minister Mahesh Sharma.
"Mahesh Sharma is the Culture Minister of the country and it is unfortunate that the minister who has taken oath on the Constitution doesn't have the courage and intellectual honesty to condemn the incident unconditionally," the Hyderabad MP said.
"He and his PM say 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikaas', then such incidents happen. These words should be put into practice," he said.
Breaking his silence, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhikesh Yadav too targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying those who spoke against "pink revolution" should ban beef exports and alleged that they wanted to disturb the "secular" ethos of the country by raising such issues.