Mangaluru: The younger brother of the Kudupu mob lynching victim spoke to Vartha Bharati about his brother, Ashraf, stating that his brother had been suffering from mental health issues for several years.

Identifying Ashraf as a native of Pulpalli village in Sultan Bathery Taluk of Wayanad district in Kerala, Mangaluru city police contacted his family members, who arrived in Mangaluru early morning on Wednesday.

Speaking to Vartha Bharati, Ashraf’s brother Abdul Jabbar said that his brother’s mental health condition had not improved in spite of medical treatment. Ashraf had remained a bachelor due to his mental health issues, and also used to roam around many places. Jabbar added, “My brother has been living in Mangaluru for several years now, but used to visit Wayanad to meet our mother. He had paid a visit recently, on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr too.”

A resident of Ernakulam in Kerala, Jabbar said, “Whenever my brother visited, I got him new clothes and a mobile phone, with a sim registered in my name, but he misplaced the phones on several occasions. During a recent call, however, he told me he was in Mangaluru.”

Referring to the case, Jabbar, expressed sorrow over the death of his brother who had been struggling mental illness and added, “The police have arrested 20 suspects in the case. Our family is cooperating with the officials, in all manners, for the investigation.”

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Lucknow, May 11 (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh government on Sunday said that more than 350 unauthorised religious sites, including madrasas, mosques, mazars and Eidgahs, have been identified and subjected to sealing or demolition in recent days, an official statement issued here said.

Acting on Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's clear directive that no religious encroachment will be tolerated, the administration in districts such as Pilibhit, Shravasti, Balrampur, Bahraich, Siddharthnagar and Maharajganj has launched a sweeping campaign, it said.

The authorities have systematically identified illegal structures and taken strict action, continuing operations even on Sunday.

The chief minister has made it clear that encroachment in the name of any religion will not be allowed and all violators, especially those running unrecognised religious institutions, will face legal consequences, the statement said.

On May 10 and 11, 104 madrasas, one mosque, five mazars and two Eidgahs built illegally on public and private land were identified in Shravasti. All were issued notices and sealed, it said.

One illegal madrasa on public land was demolished and two unrecognized madrasas on private land were sealed, the statement added.

In Bahraich, officials identified 13 madrasas, eight mosques, two mazars and one Eidgah illegally constructed on government land.

After issuing notices, five were sealed and 11 were demolished, including eight madrasas, two mosques and one mazar, the statement said.

In Siddharthnagar, the authorities identified four mosques and 18 madrasas and one more madrasa for illegal construction. Notices were issued to these structures. Five madrasas were sealed and nine were demolished. In total, action was taken against 23 illegal structures in the district, it said.

In Maharajganj’s Nautanwa tehsil, Parsamalik village, an unrecognized madrasa operating on Maktab land was shut down based on a report submitted by the District Minority Welfare Officer.

The building’s keys were handed over to the local police station in-charge. So far, 29 madrasas and five mazars constructed through encroachment on public and private land have been demolished in the district.

In past two days in Lakhimpur Kheri, two mosques, one Eidgah on public land along with eight madrasas on private land were found to be illegally constructed.

Of the 13 structures identified, one was served a notice, nine were sealed and three have been demolished so far, the statement said.

The district authorities in Pilibhit have identified an illegal mosque built on public land in Bharatpur village, covering an area of 0.0310 hectares.

According to the district magistrate, a notice has been issued to the parties involved, seeking a response within 15 days. Action against the illegal construction will be taken after the notice period ends, it said.

On Sunday, an under-construction madrasa on public land in Virpur Semra village, Tulsipur tehsil, was demolished in Balrampur. So far, 30 madrasas, 10 mazars and one Eidgah have been demolished in the district.

Ten of them were built illegally on public land, while 20 were constructed without authorization on private land, the statement said.