Dr Govind Singh

BHOPAL: A day after his visit to Seoni, where a mob lynched two tribal men, LOP Dr Govind Singh on Friday said that the incident had no connection with cow-slaughter or beef. State Congress president Kamal Nath on Thursday sent a party delegation headed by Dr Singh to the Sagar and Simaria villages where the incident occurred.

“We visited the villages of the victims and not a single person there said there was cow-slaughter or possession of beef,” Singh said.

“The Congress party demands a judicial probe into the lynching that killed two persons and left another tribal man seriously injured,” he said.

He said, people from the villages said that at 1:30 am on Monday, a group of men from the Bajrang Dal and Shri Ram Sena attacked the victims with sticks.

“Bajrang Dal is running training camps in the tribal areas,” the LOP alleged. “This incident occurred because the saffron brigade wants to spread terror among tribals before the assembly elections next year. Home minister Narottam Mishra says that beef was the reason behind the attack. Our question is that at 1: 30 in the wee hours, which source went and reported to the attackers that beef was being sold?”he asked.

The Congress said that Simaria is a village with one thousand people who work during the day and go to sleep by 8: 30 pm. “When victim Sampat Batti was being beaten by the mob with sticks, his wife intervened and fell at the feet of the assailants. The brother went to stop the men. But nothing moved the mob led by Sher Singh Rathod, a local Bajrang Dal man and his supporters,” Singh narrated.
“Why is chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s bulldozer not in action to give justice to the two deceased tribal men?” the LOP asked. “Why is the Bajrang Dal holding training camps in tribal areas? Is it to spread fear before the 2023 elections?” he alleged.
This article first appeared on timesofindia.indiatimes.com