A mob attacked a family and set fire to their house for allegedly slaughtering a bovine animal at Naitand in Jharkhand’s Giridih district.
Two people, including a woman, were injured when a mob attacked a family and set fire to their house for allegedly slaughtering a bovine animal at Naitand in Jharkhand’s Giridih district on Saturday. The injured were recuperating at a hospital, where their condition was reported to be stable.
Officials said that the police reached the spot on time and brought the situation under control. Officials maintained that damage to the house was controlled and only some portions of a thatched roof were burnt.
They said that Giridih Deputy Commissioner Umashankar Singh and SP Akhilesh B Verrier reached the spot with adequate force to keep the situation under control.
Verrier promised action. “The people in the mob who indulged in violence are being identified. The situation is completely under control. We have recovered evidence from Rahman Mian’s house that clearly indicated that a prohibited animal was slaughtered. At present, he is absconding. Legal action will be taken against them as the slaughter is prohibited,” said Verrier.
The police claimed to have recovered bovine meat and other evidence suggesting that the animal was slaughtered. They added that some people noticed meat pieces and head of the animal at a place adjacent to the house of Mian, a labourer. The word soon spread that the animal was slaughtered apparently for meat to be distributed during Eid-ul-Azha that was celebrated on Saturday. A mob soon gathered and began thrashing Mian’s kin as he managed to escape sensing trouble.
The mob then torched some portions of the house. The police reached the spot and tried to douse the fire. When reinforcements arrived, the mob dispersed following a cane charge.
“It happened around 11am. There are houses of Rahman and his five brothers, located adjacent to each other. It (Mian’s house) is located in a secluded corner of the village. The mob tried targeting these houses. They burnt some portions. But the force arrived in time,” said a police officer.
