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Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Mangaluru lynching result of hate crime: Report
Five days after terrorists killed 26 tourists in Pahalgam, a 39-year-old Muslim ragpicker from Kerala was beaten to death near a cricket ground near Mangaluru. According to an independent fact-finding report, the lynching was not a spontaneous act of violence but a direct consequence of the 'hate-filled atmosphere that followed the April 22 attack'. According to an independent fact-finding report, the lynching was not a spontaneous act of violence but a direct consequence of the 'hate-filled atmosphere that followed the April 22 attack'. (File photo) On April 27, Mohammed Ashraf, who collected discarded plastic to sell, was lynched in Kudupu, a village on the outskirts of Mangaluru, after allegedly picking up an empty water bottle near a local cricket match. The report — published by the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), and All India Lawyers Association for Justice (AILAJ) — called his murder a 'hate crime' shaped by communal mobilisation and police apathy. The 164-page report, Lost Fraternity: A Mob Lynching in Broad Daylight — A Betrayal of the Promise of the Constitution, was released on Saturday. 'As a consequence of this hate propaganda, many people have internalised this hate. Acting out of this hate a mob lynched a Muslim ragpicker – Mohammed Ashraf — next to a cricket ground,' the report stated. As per the report, the incident took place in a village with no Muslim residents. It cited CCTV footage as showing that Ashraf was walking slowly along a dirt road, carrying a gunny bag. The fact-finding team quoted his brother Jabbar as saying: 'Sachin, one of the accused, started beating him up. All the others in the cricket ground joined him and beat my brother to death.' The family learnt of the incident only after the police tracked a call Ashraf made from a scrap dealer's phone. The post-mortem examination was conducted without informing them. 'After reaching here, I realised that something is wrong. That something else had happened and he said nothing about Pakistan,' he said. Meanwhile, home minister G Parameshwara made a public claim: 'I was told that he shouted 'Pakistan Zindabad' when a local cricket match was going on… Few people got together and beat him… Later on, he died.' According to the report, this statement was not based on any police finding or complaint and surfaced only after arrests were made: 'Until this time, neither the police nor any media outlet had reported any claims that the deceased person had shouted the slogan 'Pakistan Zindabad' as justification for his murder.' The next day, the minister appeared to walk back his comment. 'It was not my statement. It was an expression made by those who were involved in that lynching… They have said that he said it during the investigation… But even that, a witness who would second that no? We don't even know if he said it.' 'By modifying and stating this unevidenced claim of the accused without verification, the home minister facilitated a travesty of justice, and gave fodder to the media to ask questions not about the man's killing, but about his alleged speech of 'Pakistan Zindabad',' the report said. The fact-finding team said the police failed at every step. The body was discovered at 1.30 pm, but the FIR was filed the next day at 11.25 pm. Until then, only an Unnatural Death Report (UDR) was registered, despite visible injuries. 'The version that there were no visible injuries was not only misleading but dangerously delayed justice.' Police also did not apply Supreme Court guidelines on lynching cases. When asked about the Tehseen Poonawalla judgment, the assistant investigating officer told the team: 'We don't know much about the Tehseen Poonawalla guidelines, you talk to the higher officials about the same.' Ashraf's identification was eventually made possible by a scrap dealer named Syed Ali. Kudupu, where the lynching occurred, has witnessed growing communal segregation. In 2023, Muslim vendors were excluded from the local temple fair. 'Such pressures by groups to exclude Muslim vendors speak to the presence of right-wing groups in the region and the anti-Muslim sentiments they have succeeded in normalising, which are often precursors to violent acts like mob lynchings,' the report noted. Home minister G Parameshwara did not respond to queries regarding the investigation at the time of publishing.
New Indian Express
29-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Fact-finding report released on Mangaluru mob lynching
BENGALURU: A fact-finding report on the mob-lynching of Mohammed Ashraf at Kudupu, Mangaluru, titled 'Lost Fraternity: A mob lynching in broad daylight, A betrayal of the promise of the Constitution' was released. It was done by People's Union for Civil Liberties, Karnataka, All India Lawyers Association for Justice, Karnataka, and Association for Protection of Civil Rights, Karnataka. Mavalli Shankar, State Convenor, DSS (Ambedkarvada) pointed to the larger failure on part of the state administration in ensuring impartial investigations into incidents in the oppressed communities. He also added that in such cases, it is important that officials and elected representatives make a visit, at least to the family, to inspire public trust in the rule of law which has not happened in the case of Ashraf and killing of a Dalit. Advocate Vinay Sreenivasa said how bails have been granted to the accused on technical grounds which are indicative of the laxity displayed by the police. He also called on the state administration to organise a meeting with various civil society groups on how best to uphold law and order. He expressed his concerns over the governments' action of bringing new laws to counter hate and fake news.
