– Abdul Bari Masoud
New Delhi, June 23: The families of three Muslim youths lynched to death for transporting cattle in Chhattisgarh have sought the assistance of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind (M) in their quest for justice.
The victims, Gudu alias Tahseen from Shamli district, and Chand Miyan and Saddam Qureshi from Saharanpur district, were brutally murdered on the evening of June 6-7 by a group of anti-national elements on a bridge over a dry river in Arang, approximately 40 kilometers from Raipur, the capital of Chhattisgarh. Despite the severity of the incident, no arrests have been made even after two weeks.
Gudu alias Tahseen leaves behind four small children, Chand Miyan had married just six months ago, and Saddam Qureshi was on the verge of getting married.
The incident unfolded as follows: three cattle traders from Mahasamund purchased buffaloes from a hamlet and were transporting them when they were followed by a group of cow vigilantes. The vigilantes had placed logs on a bridge to stop the vehicle. When the truck’s tires burst and it came to a stop, a gang of fifteen attacked. Gudu and Chand Miyan were placed under the dry river beneath the bridge where they perished. Saddam was critically injured and, after two weeks of treatment at a private hospital in Raipur, he succumbed to his injuries. The police recovered 24 buffaloes from the truck and filed a case under sections 304 and 307 against unknown attackers. A special SIT has been formed, but no arrests have been made yet.
The families of the victims, including Gudu’s brother Zeeshan, Muhammad Kausar, Saddam Qureshi’s uncle Muhammad Noshad, Chand Miyan’s father Muhammad Tahir, and Muhammad Qasim, the Nazim of Jamiat Ulama Baghpat, visited the Jamiat office to present a detailed account of the incident to Maulana Hakimuddin Qasmi, General Secretary of Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind.
Maulana Hakimuddin Qasmi assured the families that every possible effort would be made to bring the perpetrators to justice. He emphasized that purchasing cattle is a legitimate commercial activity and condemned the wrongful labeling of minority merchants as cattle smugglers. He questioned why the assailants chose to enforce the law themselves rather than contacting the police if they suspected cattle smuggling. He also criticized the state government’s lack of response to this communal tragedy, suggesting it indicates a disregard for preventing chaos in Chhattisgarh.
