The Dadri murder case is not the first instance of mob violence or communal violence in India. In 2014, on August 2 a mini-truck was stopped at a Police check post in the Najafgarh area of Delhi. When the driver was trying to convince the police to let him go, some villagers started flocking around the vehicle. A little later, the villagers started beating the driver badly; they broke his head and left him dead at the location.
The driver’s fault was that his mini-truck had dead cows and buffalos and he was mistaken by the crowd as “Muslim Smuggler” and he was beaten to death. One hour later, the crowd came to know that the person whom they have killed is actually a Hindu and his name is Shankar Kumar. Shankar was a contractor in South-Delhi Municipality and he was taking dead bodies of cows from a cow shed in South-West Delhi to Ghazipur for burying them.
13 persons were arrested by the police under various sections, however due to the lack of evidences they all got bail.
Mohammad Akhlaq’s murder in Bishada, Dadri reminds of Shankar’s murder in Najafgarh, both of them were murdered by crowd just on the basis of doubt and it also shows that how communalism is spreading in the small cities of India.
In Najafgarh, cow is considered very auspicious and paintings or statues of cows can be seen in many houses of the area. In 2012, dead bodies of some cows were found in the nearby areas and the Hindus of the area doubted the Muslims of Mewat village for the act. Since then, there is communal disharmony between the communities.
The political leaders of the area don’t support these violent activities but they also never stood up against them openly.
Shankar’s widow, Shyama lives in Nangloi and now the whole responsibility of seven kids (6 daughters and 1 son) is on her, the witnesses in the case change their statements in the court and all the accused were released by the court.
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