New York: The Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) and Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM) have in tow seperate statements condemned the lynching of a Muslim man following rumours that he ate beef in Uttar Pradesh.
"Beyond the mob's inhuman behaviour, it is alarming to note that the police have sent the meat from the victim's refrigerator to a forensic lab to be tested, out of apparent respect for the mob's feelings," a statement posted on the IAMC website said.
"This effectively turns the victim into the accused, despite the fact that even if the family were in possession of beef, they were not in violation of the Uttar Pradesh Cow Protection Act," the statement added.
The IAMC statement came even as the victims claim that they eat only meat and as against claims made by the Hindu extremists they did not possess beef.
The IAMC also accused the authorities for their inaction, calling on the media to "expose the larger design behind the incident".
A week ago, Mohammad Akhlaq, a resident of Bisara in Greater Noida, was dragged out of his house after a mob alleged he had killed a cow in his house.
The IAMC said the incident was made to appear like a spontaneous act of violence by an unruly crowd but there are strong indications that this was a planned act.
The lynching was intended to terrorise the Muslim population of the area and suppress dissent across India over the beef ban implemented in some states, it added.
The IAMC is an advocacy group of Indian Muslims in the US "dedicated to safeguarding India's pluralist and tolerant ethos".
In a statement released to the media, the Washington DC based Association of Indian Muslims of America (AIM) while condemning the recent upsurge of organized violence by a segment of extremist Hindu groups, said they are exploiting the reverence that a segment of Hindus hold for the cow.
Kaleem Kawaja, the Executive Director of the Association expressed shock that in a modern and industrially advanced country like India, the ruling Hindu Nationalist BJP party is exploiting the politics of the cow to polarize the nation along religious lines.
After winning election in the western state of Maharashtra in November 2014, the BJP party government in that state made the possession and sale of beef a criminal offense, he said.
"Since then BJP is busy inciting the religious sentiments of Hindus related to the cow, in several populous north Indian states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, that may be having election in the near future. It should be noted though that in 10 of the 28 states in the eastern and southern regions of India, slaughter of cows and sale of beef is legal", Kawaja said.
"The recent organized lynching of an old Muslim man in Dadri village was conducted by a group of extremist Hindus who were riled up by the organizers of the crime circulating a false rumour from a Hindu temple naming him as having killed a cow and eaten its meat", he said.
"At the same time in a contradictory action India's BJP government is putting extensive efforts to increase export of beef from India. India is already the nation that exports the highest amount of beef, over 2,000 tons annually, to other countries", he said.
Kawaja demanded that the Indian government and Prime Minister Modi make transparent efforts to apprehend and punish those responsible for organizing and committing this dastardly crime in Dadri village.
"The government must also apprehend those who are exploiting the religious sentiments of Hindus on the issue of cows and are creating Hindu-Muslim tension in various states in India for their selfish political gains", he said.
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