'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".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
ISRO launches Mission MITRA for safety of human spaceflight mission crew
Bengaluru (PTI): ISRO on Friday said it has undertaken mission MITRA in Leh, Union Territory of Ladakh, from April 2 to 9, a first-of-its-kind team behavioural study for the benefit of human spaceflight missions such as Gaganyaan.
The mission, inaugurated by the ISRO chairman V Narayanan, was mainly for the crew safety and performance.
"Mission MITRA is a first-of-its-kind team behavioural study designed by ISRO and IAF-Institute of Aerospace Medicine to examine the physiological, psychological, and operational dynamics of Crew and ground teams functioning in a high-altitude environment," ISRO said in a statement.
This study is targeted to generate vital understanding on the team interoperability between crew (Gaganyatris) and ground control teams and the effectiveness of decision making under environmental & operational stress, the space agency said.
Noting that the crew safety and performance are the most critical elements of all Human Spaceflight Missions, ISRO said the ability of the crew to communicate effectively, adapt to stress, maintain psychological resilience and support one another determines the success and safety of any mission.
Analogue missions conducted under controlled yet realistic conditions are utilised to understand how crews perform under challenging conditions, it added.
The space agency said the high altitude of approximately 3,500 meters at Leh having the environmental conditions of hypoxia, low temperature, and isolation, is a natural analogue for spaceflight operations.
