Yet another case of alleged lynching by self-styled cow vigilantes has emerged, this time from Bihar.
The Opposition Rashtriya Janata Dal party tweeted a video of a man purportedly being harassed and accused of beef consumption. The man has reportedly been identified as Mohammad Khaleel Alam, a member of the ruling Janata Dal (United) party from Samastipur.
Alam was allegedly beaten to death, and then buried in a ditch, as per news reports. The alleged killers also poured petrol on the body and tried to burn it, according to some accounts. They reportedly sprayed salt on the corpse to make it decay faster.
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Bihar police denied a communal angle in the crime, and said that it was a tactic to divert attention from a murder, as per reports.
Alam reportedly went missing, and his family filed a report with the police on February 16. For the next few days, they reportedly received extortion calls. On February 19, Alam's body was reportedly recovered from the bank of the Burhi Gandak river.
RJD MLA and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav said that the law and order system has collapsed under the NDA government. He asked Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to explain why such incidents are taking place in the state.
The RJD accused CM Nitish of assuming a "criminal silence" on the issue. The Opposition party said that Nitish is unable to handle the state, and the administration of Bihar has been auctioned to criminals and mafia.