Greater Noida: No sacrifice on quiet Eid in Bisada, sweets offered

A year after the murder of a Muslim man over allegations of slaughtering a cow on Bakr-Eid, the community celebrated the festival without any sacrifice.

A year after the murder of a Muslim man over allegations of slaughtering a cow on Bakr-Eid, the community celebrated the festival without any sacrifice.

The residents offered prayers at a local mosque and shared sweets to mark Bakr-Eid on Tuesday. (Mayank Rana/HT Photo)

The residents offered prayers at a local mosque and shared sweets to mark Bakr-Eid on Tuesday. Their Hindu neighbours wished them and the village remained peaceful under the watch of policemen.

On September 28 last year, three days after Bakr-Eid, a mob of locals had attacked Mohammad Ikhlaq and his younger son Danish over allegations of slaughtering a cow and storing the meat for consumption.

Ikhlaq had succumbed to his injuries while Danish had survived with a fractured skull. Eighteen local residents, including three juveniles, were nabbed over charges of murder and assault.

After nearly a year of the incident, the village remains calm under the shadow of the lynching incident.

“Offering animal sacrifice is not a tradition in this village as people are not financially sound. We celebrated the festival in a peaceful way and our Hindu neighbours also wished us on the occasion. There is no rift between the two communities and we are living in harmony together,” said Ikram Khan, a local resident.

Read: Bisada prepares for Eid a year after Ikhlaq’s death

Head woman of Bisada, Kaushalya Devi, said, “It is the duty of the Hindus of the village to ensure a grand and peaceful celebration on Bakra Eid. We will not let our Muslim brothers feel scared or unsafe.”

The families of the accused persons, who are lodged in jail, however, didn’t participate in the celebrations and refused to comment on the issue.

The police personnel were deployed to maintain peace in the village and sleuths from the local intelligence unit kept a watch over the locality.

“The festival was celebrated peacefully. Our teams were on the vigil throughout the day to avoid any untoward incident. The village is calm and there is no need to deploy heavy force,” said Anurag Singh, deputy superintendent of police, Dadri.