By HW Staff Writer

Haryana: On Sunday, it was around 6 pm when Asif, 30 left his home in Mewat, a district in the Indian state of Haryana with his friends Rashid and Wasif to buy medicines.

In the Muslim-majority Mewat region, incidents of mob lynching and overall security of the community have been a matter of concern for long. From Pehlu Khan to Rakbar, the district has witnessed many lynching cases.

At a time when India is devastated by the virus, Mewat’s Khalilpur village witnessed another heart-wrenching incident of lynching on Sunday.

While returning from town, a gym trainer by profession Asif and his friend’s car was suddenly hit by another car from the front.

As they were trying to make sense of the situation, suddenly a mob of young men from the Hindu Gujjar community attacked the, shouting religious slurs like “maaro in mullo ko (Kill these Muslims)” and “Jai Shiri Ram” a war cry used by Hindutva militants to target minorities including Muslims and Christians in India.

They kicked and beat Asif and his friends with rods. Rashid and Wasif were beaten and left at the side, thinking they were dead. The mob took Asif with them to village Nangli, where he was again mercilessly beaten to the point that he couldn’t resist and breathed his last.

“He was mercilessly beaten with rods. There was a bullet mark on his leg,” Asif’s uncle Hasan said.

Asif is survived by his wife and 3 children ages 5, 2.5, and 7-month-old son.

“After the incident, Asif’s family is in shock and it is difficult to console them,” Hasan says.

“Asif was physically and mentally a fit person.  If they would have attacked him from the front, then Asif would have fought back,” he added.

When Wasif gained his senses, he called home. He informed the family about the incident prompting everyone to look out for him. They rushed to the village and found Asif’s dead body lying near the garbage disposal site.

Rashid who was accompanying Asif is still in critical condition.

Police claims they will arrest all the criminals and have made some arrests, but the fact remains that the main accused is still roaming free.