Days after a 24-year-old man in Jharkhand was lynched in Jharkhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday condemned the incident. "The lynching in Jharkhand has pained me. It has saddened others, too," the prime minister said while speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address in Rajya Sabha.
However, PM Modi added that it was not right to label Jharkhand based on an incident. "But, some people in the Rajya Sabha are calling Jharkhand a hub of lynching. Is this fair? Why are they insulting a state. None of us have the right to insult the state of Jharkhand," Modi criticised the opposition.
Modi's word of condemnation came a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday termed the alleged lynching a "blot on humanity" and said the "silence" of powerful voices in the BJP-ruled central and state governments over the incident is shocking. "The brutal lynching of this young man by a mob in Jharkhand is a blot on humanity. The cruelty of the police who held this dying boy in custody for 4 days is shocking as is the silence of powerful voices in the BJP-ruled central and state governments," Gandhi tweeted, along with a still from the video of the incident.
The Congress president used the hashtag 'India Against Lynch Terror' with his tweet.
Tabrez Ansari was thrashed by a mob for alleged theft on June 18 and a video had emerged which purportedly showed that he was forced to chant "Jai Shri Ram" and "Jai Hanuman" in Jharkhand's Saraikela Kharsawan district. He was declared "brought dead" by doctors at the Tata Main Hospital in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand on Saturday.
Eleven people have been arrested in connection with Ansari's death and a special investigation team (SIT) has been set up to look into the matter.
(With inputs from PTI)
