Hindu man’s murder sparks violence in Himachal Pradesh
Angry mob took to the streets and burned down the house of prime accused.
A 22-year-old man was brutally murdered in the Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh sparking widespread protest in the district, and a mob burning down the house of the prime suspect.
The victim, Manohar Lal, went missing on 6th June and his body was found chopped into eight pieces hidden under some stones on 9th June. Police suspect it to be an honor killing as he was having an affair with a Muslim woman. The accused in the case is Sharif Mohammed, the father of the woman.
In a protest against the brutal murder, the mob took to the streets on Thursday shouting slogans against the administration, torching the house of Sharif Mohammed, a few of them also stormed the local police station. Eight people have been arrested in this case, including Sharif and his daughter. During the investigation, police also found transactions worth over ₹2 crore in Sharif’s bank accounts.
After the violent protests, the authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 for a duration of two months. BJP demanded an NIA probe as during a press conference former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jai Ram Thakur said, “The accused, Sharif Mohammad, was also earlier questioned in connection with a terror incident reported in 1998, in which 35 people were killed and seven others were taken hostage by the Kashmiri militants.”
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu in a statement said, “Such incidents should not be flared up to achieve ulterior motives just for the sake of politics at the cost of communal harmony. The law will follow its due course. We are with the family of the deceased and will extend all possible assistance to support them.” He also asked the BJP to not give this case a communal angle.
Meanwhile, the BJP will hold a statewide protest in all 12 districts of the state on Saturday.
