Mob lynching by cow vigilantes leaves one dead in Nashik

In yet another incident of mob lynching by cow vigilantes in the Igatpuri area of Nashik district, a youth in his thirties was beaten to death by a mob of cow vigilantes.

The two youths, Afaan Abdul Majid Ansari and Nasir Sheikh, both residents of Mumbai – were transporting meat from Ahmednagar district to Mumbai, when they were apprehended by a group in Gambhirwadi on Ghoti-Sinnar Road in the Igatpuri area on June 24.

While Ansari died in the incident, Shaikh was brutally injured.

The police have arrested 11 persons in connection with the crime.

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It may be recalled that on June 10, another individual, Lukman Suleman Ansari, a resident of Padga, was killed and his two friends — Atiq Paddi and Aqueel Gavandi — were injured in Igatpuri when they were transporting cows. They were apprehended near Vihigaon in Shahpur in Thane. At least six persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.

The Congress has lashed out at the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena-BJP government demanding to know why it was turning a blind eye to such incidents.

Veteran Congressman and former minister Naseem Khan questioned whether the rule of law exists under the government led by Eknath Shinde.

Khan, who is the Working President of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee and former Minister of State for Home in the erstwhile Democratic Front government, said: “The two incidents are shocking and happen in the same district and very near to Mumbai.”

“Under Shinde-sarkar, does the state have a rule of law or goonda raj?” he questioned, adding that this is the land of ideology of Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar. “It appears either the government has lost control over the police and administrative machinery or they are turning a blind eye to such incidents,” he said.