Gurgaon: Muslims wear black armbands during Eid prayers to protest youth’s lynching over beef rumour

Muslims called for swift action against the culprits in the Ballabhgarh lynching case

On a day of festivity, the scene at Mewat, located 60 km from Gurgaon, was different than usual. Members of the Muslim community wore black arm bands to protest against the alleged lynching of 15-year-old Junaid Khan on a local train in Faridabad over rumours of carrying beef.

Muslims offer prayers on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr at Mewat on Monday.(HT PHOTO)

Though Eid-ul-Fitr was celebrated across Mewat on Monday with signature revelry, Muslim members protested against the alleged atrocities being perpetuated against the community.

People were seen offering prayers at the mosque and Eid shoppers thronged local markets to celebrate the auspicious day. However, they did vent their anger over the attack on the youth, who later died at the civil hospital in Palwal.

“People across Mewat are shocked over the recent incidents of violence and have decided to protest peacefully. We wish to send a message to the government that such incidents risk dividing our society and should not be tolerated. People in Alwar, Nagina, Nuh, Firozepur Jhirka, Palwal, Hathin and all nearby areas offered Namaaz wearing black armbands,” Zafar Mohammad, a resident of Nai Nagla village near Firozpur Jhirka, said.

Read I Muslim boy stabbed to death on train after argument turns into religious slurs

Members of the community demanded that culprits in such incidents be brought to justice at the earliest and said more steps should be taken to ensure safety and security of the Muslims residing in the area.

Though the accused, indentified as Ramesh, has been arrested by the police and sent to three-day police custody, there is no word yet on the motive behind the attack.