RIYADH: Indian expatriates in Saudi Arabia are deeply anguished over growing violence against Muslims in India terming the latest Dadri incident on the outskirts of New Delhi as the height of barbarity amounting to “uncivilized behavior”. They have urged the Union government to protect the secular fabric of the country.

Mohammad Akhlaque, 52, father of an Indian air force personnel and a native of Dadri village in Uttar Pradesh, was beaten to death by an instigated mob on Monday night, allegedly over rumors that he had stored beef.

Mohammed Quaiser, who heads Tanzeem Hum Hindustani, a voluntary organization of overseas Indians in the Kingdom, said: “It is shocking to know that the whole village turned violent to respond to a temple priest’s rumor and murdered a human being for alleged animal sacrifice; this is murder of humanity.”

He said: “What is deeply disturbing is that a local temple fueled the rumor leading to murder. As though this was not enough, a BJP leader described the murder as an act of excited school children and the priest was honorably discharged. And to make it worse, the cops started investigating the victim’s dietary habits after threatening his family to keep mum against local BJP leaders or be ready to face the consequences. Is this the way of changing India and ushering in achchay din (good days) propagated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”

Commenting on the tragedy, Murshid Kamal, India Islamic Culture Center (IICC), Saudi Arabia convener, said: “It is indeed clear now that all this is being done at the behest of the federal BJP government. Moreover, the state government of Uttar Pradesh is hand in glove with the communal forces once again after the Muzaffarnagar pogrom.”

He said that as this is the rarest incident where a human being was killed on rumor of an animal killing, the mob, which lynched an innocent man and instigated this heinous crime, should be given strict punishment and be booked for terrorist activities. “As peace loving citizens and patriots, we cannot just watch our beloved country being hijacked by a lunatic fringe.”

Misbah-ul-Arfin, a senior NRI and former president of AMUOBA, Riyadh, described the tragedy as a discouraging tendency being encouraged under the aegis of the BJP government in order to disturb peace and polarize the country based on religious lines.

“The whole idea is to unleash a series of communal violence and make Muslims feel insecure, and carry out forceful conversions in the name of ‘ghar wapasi.’ They are a threat to peace, especially to the minority community as the Dadri incident shows; the sub-divisional magistrate threatened the victim’s family to keep mum on the whole issue,” he said.

Obaidur Rahman, Milli Council, Saudi Arabia joint convener, said: “The culprits of the heinous crime are being protected by the law enforcing agencies and the government, which is shameful. Just came to know that some of the culprits have been detained while others are still at large, such divisive politics is dangerous for the secular fabric guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Arshad Ali Khan, general secretary, AMUOBA Riyadh, said: “What is deplorable is that the prime minister who talks of inclusive growth keeps mum on the heinous crime.”