'BJP goons killed Qasim, dragged him like a dead animal'
New Delhi, June 22: Cattle trader Qasim, who was lynched in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur earlier this week, was "brutally killed by BJP goons as he belonged to the Muslim community" and dragged like dead animal in presence of police, his younger brother said on Friday.
"My brother screamed in pain for water, but the mob refused him saying he is a Muslim and butcher. He was dragged like a dead animal in front of police," Mohammed Nadeem said at a press conference here.
Qasim was allegedly beaten to death and farmer Mohammed Samiyuddin was critically injured by a mob over alleged rumours of cow slaughter at Bajhera Khurd village in Hapur.
Nadheem said that around 11 a.m. four days back, his brother received a call from someone to purchase the cattle. "He left to make a deal but never came back to home."
"I received a call saying your brother was lynched by a mob and was taken to police station. When we reached the police station, they said he was taken to hospital. He was lying dead in the hospital," said Nadeem.
The press meet was organised by a fact-finding team of United Against Hate comprising of activists Nadeem Khan, Shariq Hussain and advocate Mushfiq and Shibli from the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) which visited the villages of the victims and met their family members.
The team were told that Qasim was a cattle trader, purchased buffalos and lambs from nearby villages and sold them at a local animal market called Paith.
Meanwhile, 67-year-old Samiyuddin, was allegedly thrashed and critically injured by the mob when he intervened and tried to pacify the attackers, and later admitted in private hospital.
Samiyuddin's brother Mohammed Mehruddin said: "Police confused us for six hours in order so we can't meet him. But finally we found him in private hospital lying unconscious on bed with his right hand thumb having blue colour impression."
"We don't know, what police have used this thumb impression for," he added.
The fact-finding team said in a statement that before the lynching, an announcement was made from the nearby temple asking people to gather there, as cow killers had been caught red-handed - "which is a repeat of the modus operandi adopted in the Dadri incident where Akhlaq was lynched to death for allegedly consuming beef. Police however, say that they are not aware of any such announcement".
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SC directs President's secretary to place before her Beant assassination convict's mercy plea
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Monday directed President Droupadi Murmu's secretary to place before her the mercy petition of death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in the 1995 assassination case of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, for consideration.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai, P K Mishra and K V Viswanathan requested the President to consider the plea within two weeks.
"Inspite of the matter being specifically kept today none appeared for Union of India. The bench assembled only for this case," the bench said.
"On the last date the matter was adjourned to enable the Union to take instructions from the office of the President as to by when will mercy plea be decided. Taking into consideration that the petitioner is on a death row, we direct the secretary to the President of India to place the matter before the President with a request to consider the same within two weeks from today," the bench said.
The matter will now be heard on December 5.
On September 25, the top court had sought responses from the Centre, the Punjab government and the administration of the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Rajoana's plea.
The then Punjab chief minister and 16 others were killed in a blast at the entrance of the civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.
A special court sentenced Rajoana to death in July 2007.
Rajoana has said that a mercy petition under Article 72 of the Constitution was moved by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on his behalf in March 2012.
On May 3 last year, the apex court had refused to commute his death sentence and said the competent authority could deal with his mercy plea.
