Culture minister says Dadri incidents is an ‘accident’; UP Police blames social media

Janjivan Bureau
New Delhi/ Lucknow: Two days after a mob lynched of a 50-year-old man over allegations that he stored and consumed beef in an Uttar Pradesh village, Union culture minister Mahesh Sharma said on Thursday the incident was an “accident without any communal colour”, triggering sharp criticism from political rivals. Where as UP Home Secretary Debasish Panda, and DGP, Jagmohan Yadav, held a meeting in Ghaziabad on Thursday to review law & order preparedness in the region ahead of the panchayat polls in the state.
Addressing a press conference along with Panda following the meeting, Yadav blamed social media like Twitter in spreading rumors that are leading to Dadri-like incidents while assuring that a thorough investigation is underway.
“Investigations into the matter are being held at several levels. Its not a minor incident and it’s being investigated as to how a mob barged into a house at midnight and committed the horrendous crime. But misuse of social media platforms like Twitter are to blame for helping spread rumors that are leading to incidents like the one reported from Bisahada. We are undertaking particular steps to avoid similar incidents in the festive season ahead that includes Muharram and Dussehra where processions on roads will be simultaneously undertaken by members of different religious communities,” said Yadav.
Mohammad Ikhlaq of Bisada village was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son Danish was critically injured by a 200-strong mob which barged into their house on Monday night following an announcement from loudspeakers installed in the local temple .
Mahesh Sharma, who is the MP from the area, told reporters in Delhi, “I feel this incident occurred due to some misunderstanding and the law should truthfully act against whoever is responsible for it.”
A full-fledged political blame game started between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the ruling Samajwadi Party, as UP cabinet minister Azam Khan hit out at the BJP, saying the party’s strategy is to attract votes by polarising people along communal lines ahead of the 2017 state assembly elections.
“Such heinous acts may be taken as the saffron outfits’s preparation for the upcoming UP Assembly elections in 2017. They deem massacre of innocent Muslims as one of the strategies to attract electorate on communal lines,” Khan alleged.