Chandigarh: The police on Sunday announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to arrest of the persons involved in the lynching of a Muslim youth after an altercation inside a train near Ballabhgarh in Haryana.
“We have announced the reward of Rs 1 lakh to any person whose information helps us arrest the other accused in the case,” Kamaldeep Goel, SP, Government Railway Police (GRP), Faridabad, said over the phone.
The identity of the informer will be kept secret, he said.
“As the train was packed with people, someone may have even captured the incident on their mobile phone camera. If there is any such video or audio recording, it can be shared with us; we will reward the informer,” Goel said.
He said so far only one accused has been arrested. He has been remanded to police custody, he added.
The MLA from Prithla, Tek Chand Sharma, and Wakf Board Chairman, Raees Khan, on Sunday met the victim’s kin at their village in Ballabhgarh district and condemned the cowardly act.
Two cheques amounting to Rs 10 lakh were also handed to the family by them.
On Thursday night, 17-year-old Junaid was stabbed to death while his brothers - Hashim (20) and Sakir – were injured by a mob which also hurled slurs against them over suspicions they were carrying beef on board the Delhi-Mathura passenger train between Ballabgarh and Mathura stations. GRP officials said the altercation had started over seats.
The arrested accused, before being remanded to police custody by a court in Faridabad district on Saturday, had told reporters that he was in an inebriated state at the time of the incident and had attacked the teenager on being allegedly instigated by fellow passengers.
Hashim had given a detailed account of the incident, saying how they were targeted by a group inside the train from Okhla station onwards. The victims had boarded the train from Sadar Bazaar in Delhi after doing their Eid shopping.
Meanwhile, Goel denied that GRP's response to the incident was not prompt.
“We rushed to the spot, the moment we got information. Our Palwal police post team led by its in-charge reached the Asaoti railway station. At that time the priority was to rush the injured to the nearby hospital, which we did," he said.
A CPI (M) delegation had also visited the family of the victims.
The delegation, which asked the police to ascertain the political affiliation of those involved in the "horrific mob lynching", had alleged that the accused would not have dared target the victims sans "political patronage" in the BJP-ruled state.
CPI(M) politburo members Brinda Karat and Mohammed Salim had reprimanded the Centre over the attack and rued that no government representative had issued a statement on the incident.
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