ON July 5, 2024, a delegation of All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) visited the families of the three victims of the pre-planned killings of Muslim youth transporting cattle, on June 7 near the Mahanadi Bridge on the Mahasamund-Raipur border in Chhattisgarh by BJP-RSS criminals posing as cow vigilantes. The delegation visited Lakhnauti village in Saharanpur district and Banat town in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, and handed over cheques of one lakh rupees each to the three families of the victims.

The planned murders took place just three days after the declaration of the results of the Lok Sabha elections on June 4, in which Narendra Modi and the BJP-NDA came to power for the third time, although with a much-reduced majority. This has been followed by similar attacks on Muslims by Sangh Parivar criminals in several states. 

The AIKS-AIAWU delegation visited the bereaved families of Tehsim Qureshi at Banat town, and Chand Mian and Saddam Qureshi in Lakhnauti village, in Uttar Pradesh. The delegation comprised V Sivadasan, member of parliament, Rajya Sabha, and treasurer of AIAWU, AIKS president Ashok Dhawale, general secretary Vijoo Krishnan, finance secretary P Krishnaprasad, AIAWU general secretary B Venkat, joint secretary Vikram Singh, and AIKS CKC members Pushpendra Tyagi and Manoj Kumar. They were accompanied by AIKS leaders from Uttar Pradesh Daud Khan, Sushil Kumar Rana, Dharmendra Singh and Virender Singh.

So far no government officials had visited the family of Tehsim Qureshi while the sub divisional magistrate (SDM) had visited the two families in Lakhnauti village. No compensation or treatment expenditure had been provided to these families by either the state government of Chhattisgarh or Uttar Pradesh, both led by the BJP.

AIKS has demanded compensation of Rs one crore, and one permanent job to each victim’s family by the Chhattisgarh state government. It may be recalled that the BJP-led state government of Haryana did not pay any compensation to the family of Pehlu Khan, a cattle farmer of Mewat who was lynched by Bajrang Dal goons on April 1, 2017 in Alwar, Rajasthan. Then also farmers across India had collected money and AIKS gave a sum of Rs 10 lakh to assist the family of Pehlu Khan.

The Chhattisgarh incident happened between 2-3 am on June 7 when a gang of 11-12 people followed the truck loaded with cattle - all buffaloes, not a single cow - stopped the truck at the Mahanadi bridge and attacked the workers. It is a case of premeditated murder and hate crime and not mob lynching. The state police registered an FIR under section 304 and 307 of IPC for attempt to murder and culpable homicide that attracts punishment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with a fine or with both. There is no charge of section 302 of IPC for murder. This reveals the rabidly communal bias of the Chhattisgarh State Police. Among the four belatedly arrested in this case is Raja Agrawal, who is the district propaganda chief of the BJYM.

The BJP MP Brijmohan Aggarwal of Raipur has publicly stated that the three workers were not murdered, but they committed suicide by jumping from the bridge. This is nothing but an attempt to protect the murderers and is hence a serious crime. The BJP-led state government has done nothing in this matter. AIKS has again strongly demanded a judicial enquiry, strong action against the top police officers involved in the conspiracy to protect the murderers, and prosecution of the BJP MP.

A press conference was held by the AIKS at the Press Club of India in New Delhi on July 6, and it was addressed by Ashok Dhawale, Vijoo Krishnan, Hannan Mollah, P Krishnaprasad, and Pushpendra Tyagi. The AIKS charged that prime minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah were directly responsible for the current wave of widespread increase of hate crimes against Muslims all over India in the post poll scenario. The RSS and its outfits constantly instigate hatred against the minorities. This fosters alienation and insecurity among the minorities, which breeds fundamentalist trends, weakens the secular foundation of India and endangers national unity. Defence of minority rights is a crucial aspect of the struggle to strengthen democracy and secularism.

The cattle economy is part of agriculture contributing 27 per cent of the income of farmer households. India is the second largest country in beef export. The attack on traders and workers in the cattle industry severely affects the cattle farmers, who are unable to sell their animals or get remunerative prices since there is no cattle trade market.

AIKS has strongly demanded that the NDA union government and parliament enact a stringent law against mob lynching and hate crimes, establish fast track courts to expedite the trial and conviction of the lawbreakers, and protect the interests of cattle farmers, traders and workers in the cattle trade and meat industry. The government must purchase cattle at market rate from the farmers and protect their livelihood.

AIKS has called upon all its units to observe July 24 as protest day against the RSS-driven hate crimes against cattle farmers and cattle transport workers, and for the demand of enactment of a law against mob lynching and hate crimes, and to collect funds to support the bereaved families of three workers murdered in Chhattisgarh.