New Delhi: His relatives describe Mishri Khan Jume Khan Baloch as a hard-working man who would toil as a labourer in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district to make ends meet for his family.
Baloch, who was in his forties and is survived by four children and a visually impaired wife, was brutally beaten to death on May 23 by iron rod-wielding men, who claimed to be ‘gau rakshaks’ – cow protectors.
According to the first information report (FIR) registered in the case and accessed by The Wire, Baloch and his friend Hussain Khan were out to deliver two buffaloes to Baloch’s sister after purchasing the animals from a local cattle market. The accused men, identified as Akherajsinh Parbatsinh Vaghela, Nikulsinh, Jagatsinh, Pravinsinh and Hamirbhai Thakor, have been have been booked for murder, wrongful restraint, criminal intimidation and criminal conspiracy, says the FIR.
While the men were hitting Baloch, Khan who was driving the vehicle, fled the scene.
Police have refused to recognise this as a case of communal crime.
In cruel irony, the attack on Baloch came on the same month in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a campaign rally in Gujarat itself that if one has two buffaloes, the Congress will attempt to take one away.
This story was originally published in thewire.in. Read the full story here.