Azhar Khan, 22, was lynched for fishing near a temple in Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan on 17th September 2018. (Photo – The Indian Express)

 

JAIPUR — Despite the Supreme Court expressing serious concern over and issuing strong directives to check mob lynching, the incidence of this nature has continued unabated. The latest victim of mob lynching is 22-year-old Azhar Khan – he was beaten to death by a mob for fishing near a temple in Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district. The BJP-ruled Rajasthan has earned notoriety for lynching in the name of faith in the last few years.

Just two days back, the Supreme Court had directed all state governments to implement its 17th July directives to check mob lynching.

The youth who worked as a conductor in a private bus and was youngest among four siblings had gone to fishing along with some friends near a temple on the banks of Ruparel river in Chittorgarh’s Kheri village. Some guards from a nearby farmhouse raised an alarm leading to the gathering of villagers in large number. While Shahnawaz Khan (23), Naushad Khan (47) and Anwar Khan (41) were able to flee, Azhar was caught by the villagers. He was brutally beaten by the mob. The incident took place on 17th September. The injured youth was taken to Udaipur hospital where he succumbed to his injuries on 22nd September.

His uncle Riyaz Khan registered an FIR on the same day. “Parsoli station house officer Praveen Singh Tuesday said that they had detained some men for questioning, but gave no more details”, says Hindustan Times.

“No arrests have been made yet, and the police said the cause of assault was yet to be ascertained,” says The Indian Express.

In the last four years, dozens of people have been lynched by mob in the name of faith – over suspicion of cow slaughter, cow smuggling and beef consumption. Most of the incidents have occurred in the BJP-ruled states including Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Assam.

Rajasthan, in particular, has earned notoriety for mob lynching by cow vigilantes. In Alwar district of the state, several incidents of lynching have occurred. On 20th July this year, Akbar or Rakbar Khan was lynched over suspicion of cattle smuggling. In November last year, one Umar Khan was lynched on the same suspicion. In April that year, Pehlu Khan, a dairy farmer from Haryana was lynched here.

List Of Incidents Of Lynching Even After 17th July SC Verdict:

Since 17th July 2018 when the Supreme Court passed a long judgement against mob lynching and cow vigilantism, around one dozen incidents of lynching have occurred in different parts of the country. Below is a list of some of these incidents:

— Akbar or Rakbar Khan was lynched over suspicion of cattle smuggling in Alwar district of Rajasthan on 20th July.

— A mentally-challenged woman was lynched on suspicion of child lifting in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh on 22nd July.

— 22-year-old Ajmal Vahoniya was beaten to death by a mob on suspicion of mobile theft in Dahod district of Gujarat on 28th July.

— 52-year-old Farooq Shiekh Hussain was lynched in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh Saturday on 31st July.

— A 25-year-old man was beaten to death by a mob over suspicion of cow theft in Palwal district of Haryana on 2nd August.

— 20-year-old Shahrukh Khan was lynched by a mob over suspicion of cattle theft attempt in Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh on 23rd August.

— A retired policeman Abdul Samad Khan, 70, was beaten to death by a group of people allegedly over a property dispute in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh on 3rdSeptember.

— MBA graduate Farooq Khan, 26, was lynched by a mob on suspicion of vehicle theft in Manipur on 14th September. 

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