Maharashtra mob lynching case: 'Who gave them power to kill him?'

Affan Abdul Majid Ansari was lynched by cow vigilantes in Nashik on Saturday

The family of Affan Abdul Majid Ansari, 32 - lynched by cow vigilantes in Nashik on Saturday evening - is mourning the death of their sole breadwinner. Affan is survived by his wife and two daughters. The distraught family is questioning if there is a law in the country which states that someone suspected of a crime can be stopped on the road and beaten to death. Nasir Hussain Gulam Hussain Qureshi, 24, who was with Affan, is recuperating in hospital.

On June 24, when Nasir Hussain Gulam Hussain Qureshi and Affan Abdul Majid Ansari were returning from Nashik to Mumbai in a Maruti Swift car, employees at a toll plaza on Dhamangaon-Sinnar Ghoti Road noticed meat inside the car. They immediately called someone and the car was stopped by a group of 10-15 people on the road ahead.

"Nasir was driving the car and Affan was sitting beside him. The group started assaulting the duo and hit Affan in the head, which resulted in him becoming non-responsive," an officer from Ghoti police station in Nashik said, adding that they were both taken to SMBT hospital, Dhamangaon, where Affan was declared dead on arrival and Nasir was admitted for treatment.

The family of the deceased with senior Congress party member Naseem Khan

Affan, an undertrial suspected of murdering two people, was out on bail for the past five months. He was living with his two daughters aged 2 and 4 years and his wife Ayesha, 25. The family was living at Qureshi Nagar in Kurla East. He had joined Nasir in his meat business to earn a living after his release. He is the youngest of his brothers who are all in the meat business.

"He was short-tempered but cared about his family. People are raising questions about his criminal past but he was only trying to earn for his family. If he was indeed crying cow meat then he should have been arrested and put in jail. Who has given these people the power to kill him?" questioned Mohammed Asgar Abdul Qadar Ansari, Affan's maternal uncle. "Who will look after the family now?"

Naseem Khan, a senior member of the Congress party met the family on Monday. He told mid-day that this is the second incident of lynching by cow vigilantes in Nashik in the last fortnight. "Under the Shinde-sarkar, does the state have a rule of law or goonda raj?" he questioned.

Khan demanded a thorough investigation into both the incidents and a compensation of Rs10 lakh to the victims' families. He also demanded that a report must be sought from the Nashik rural superintendent of police. So far 11 people have been arrested for the crime.

"The victim has confessed to carrying cow and buffalo meat. But we have still sent samples for analysis. We have arrested 11 persons in the case so far," said Shahaji Umap, superintendent of police, Nashik rural.

This is the second such incident in Nashik in two weeks. On June 8, three men transporting cattle in a tempo were attacked allegedly by a group of ‘cow vigilantes', the police said. The body of one of them, identified as Lukman Ansari, 23, was recovered from a gorge at Ghatandevi in Igatpuri on June 10.

June 24
Day the incident happened when Ansari was returning from Nashik to Mumbai

2
No of lynching incidents within a fortnight