- Ashok Vajpeyi, Poet, Sahitya Akademi Award, Nayantara Sahgal, Bisada lynching
Delhi/ Nagpur: “Those who stand to be enemies of communal harmony and peace shall have to face stringent punishment.” It was said by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday with reference to Dadri lynching incident of Greater Noida in Uttar Pradesh, said media reports.
He further reiterated that strongest punishment would be meted out to those who tried to break communal harmony in the country, be it the state government of the central government, informed reporters.
Terming the incident of lynching as ‘most unfortunate’ the Home Minister appealed to the people to maintain communal harmony. In his own words,”It was an ‘unfortunate’ incident. I appeal to every citizens to maintain communal harmony, which is everyone’s responsibility.”
Rajnath Singh had sought a report on the incident from Uttar Pradesh government on October 1, and he gave advice to the state government to ascertain no repetition of such incidents hence forth. Concerned about incidents of a communal colour, the Centre has also asked all States to take strictest action against those who attempt to weaken the secular fabric of the nation by exploiting religious sentiments.
In a statement, Home Ministry had said that it was much concerned about various incidents with communal overtones across the country, including the recent “unfortunate” incident at Dadri.
It may be recalled that a 50-year-old Mohammad Akhlaq in Dadri’s Bishara village was lynched on September 28, and his son Danish (22) was brutally beaten up as a punishment for allegedly eating beef on Eid and ‘storing it’ for later consumption. A riot-like situation gripped the sleepy village, a little over 40 km from the bustling sub-city of Grater Noida, near Delhi, on September 29, when their relatives were barred from participating in the funeral procession. However, Asgari Beghum, wife of the deceased had clarified that it was ‘mutton’, not ‘beef.’
