Man lynched in Jharkhand’s Godda, family alleges killing driven by religious hatred
Godda, Jharkhand: A mob killing in Jharkhand’s Godda district has triggered outrage after a 40-year-old Muslim man was allegedly beaten to death. The incident occurred in the Podaiyahat police station area, where the body of Pappu Ansari was found in a field between Matihani and Latta villages on Thursday morning.
Ansari was a resident of Ranipur village under the Pathargama police station limits. He had reportedly gone to the area after being called on the pretext of settling a payment related to cattle delivery. According to his family, he was called again early in the morning to collect money. He was then told that the cattle would not be handed over. When he tried to leave, he was allegedly attacked from behind and surrounded by a group of men.
His brother, Mohammad Naseem, alleged that Ansari was stripped after his brother was identified as a Muslim, and then brutally assaulted. He claimed the attackers used multiple weapons like a farsa, sticks, arrows and a chisel. Naseem alleged the assault continued repeatedly referring to his religious identity.
The incident is said to have taken place during the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday in Matihani village. Police said villagers caught Ansari around 1 am on suspicion of cattle theft and allegedly beat him with sticks. Senior police officials reached the spot after receiving information, and the body was sent to Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examination.
During the investigation, police recovered slippers, blood-stained sticks, a burnt mobile phone, gutkha packets, khaini and ashes from the scene, as reported by The Indian Express. Headquarters Deputy Superintendent of Police JPN Chaudhary said the man had been beaten to death and that efforts were underway to identify and arrest those involved.
Police sources said Ansari had previous cases related to cattle theft and copper theft registered against him and claimed he had arrived in the village with three others in a pickup vehicle, who managed to flee when he was caught. The family, however, rejected this version, maintaining that the killing was not linked to theft but was an act of mob violence driven by religious animosity.
Naseem alleged that no elected representative or senior official had visited the family after the incident. Ansari is survived by four daughters and a young son.
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Bypolls: K'taka Cong Minority Abdul Jabbar chief resigns amid allegations of 'internal conspiracy'
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Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Congress Minority Department President K Abdul Jabbar announced his resignation from the post on Saturday, a day after a group of Muslim leaders accused members of their own party of "conspiring" to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
Jabbar, an MLC, was an aspirant for the Congress ticket from the Davanagere South Assembly segment.
"It has been an honor for me to serve as Chairman of the KPCC Minority department and have worked to the best of my ability during assembly elections 2023 and followed by Parliament polls and many such occasions whenever the party needed the minority department and showed results. I have toured the entire state of Karnataka and worked to align the minorities with Congress values and principles. Most of it is available in the public domain," Jabbar has said in a letter to the party.
"Minority voters and minority office bearers are the backbone of our great Congress party and certainly deserve better," he said.
Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President, confirmed Jabbar's resignation.
"I won't speak about this now, I have got some reports. The Minority President has submitted his resignation. I will verify things, I will seek a report from local leaders after that I will speak," he told reporters in response to a question on internal conspiracy.
A rift within the Karnataka Congress surfaced on Friday, a day after the bypolls to two Assembly constituencies in the state, as a group of Muslim leaders alleged a "conspiracy" by some of their own senior party leaders to defeat the official candidate in Davanagere South.
However, they asserted that despite efforts by some within to project that Congress "betrayed" Muslims, the party candidate Samarth Mallikarjun will win in Davanagere South, the constituency where the community has a significant presence.
They said the party finally named Samarth Mallikarjun as the candidate after considering all factors and taking all Muslim leaders into confidence. Despite this, a massive campaign, including from some within the party, projected the Congress as having "betrayed" the minorities by denying them tickets.
Chief Whip in the Legislative Council Saleem Ahmed, MLAs Rizwan Arshad, Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan, MLC Bilkis Bano, and other Congress leaders addressed a joint press conference on Friday, claiming an "internal conspiracy".
According to party sources, these Muslim leaders have also complained to AICC and state party leadership, alleging "internal sabotage" in Davanagere South.
Though the leaders did not name anyone, several party sources said their attack was directed at State Housing Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan and Jabbar among others.
Khan, who had openly demanded the Davanagere South ticket for a Muslim candidate, initially stayed away from campaigning in the constituency, citing his Kerala poll responsibilities.
However, he addressed a press meet with Samarth's father and Minister SS Mallikarjun at the request of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Jabbar too had not actively participated in the campaigning, despite hailing from Davanagere.
Bypolls for Davanagere South were held along with Bagalkot on Thursday. The election was necessitated following the death of sitting MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti respectively. Samarth is the grandson of Shivashankarappa.
Muslim disgruntlement appears to be a concern for the Congress in Davanagere South. With 14 of the 25 candidates in the fray belonging to the community, there are apprehensions within the party about a split in votes, which could benefit the BJP.
Given its significant presence in the constituency, the Muslim community strongly demanded the Congress ticket for Davanagere South. Some party factions had opposed giving the ticket to the Shamanur family.
Although the Congress was successful in persuading rebel candidate Sadiq Pailwan to withdraw from the contest, he remained in the fray as the move came after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations.
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