Ex-BJP MLA from Rajasthan booked for remarks on lynching 5 people

Former BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja, who was caught on tape saying that his supporters have so far lynched five people for cow smuggling, has been booked by the Alwar Police for promoting hatred and enmity

Former BJP MLA Gyan Dev Ahuja, who was caught on tape saying that his supporters have so far "lynched five people" for cow smuggling, has been booked by the Alwar Police for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity.

SHO of Govindgarh police station, Shiv Shankar, said the case was registered by police on the basis of the video which surfaced after he visited the family of 45-year-old Chiranjilal Saini, who was lynched by Mev Muslim community members on suspicion of tractor theft, on Friday last.

Saini died during treatment at Jaipur's state-run SMS Hospital on Monday.

Shankar said the FIR was registered under section IPC 153-A for promoting hatred and enmity on the grounds of religion.

In the video, the BJP leader is seen making the comment while interrupting a speaker, who was urging a group of people to launch an agitation against the lynching of Saini.

"We have so far lynched five people, be it in Lawandi or Behror. This has happened for the first time in this area that they have lynched someone. I have given free hand to workers to kill. We will get them acquitted and secure bail," the MLA is seen saying in the video, referring to the Pehlu Khan and Rakbar Khan lynching cases.

As the remarks sparked a controversy, BJP's Alwar (South) chief Sanjay Singh Naruka told PTI that the party "does not have this thinking".

"These are his own views," he added.

When contacted, the former Ramgarh MLA maintained that anyone involved in cow smuggling and slaughter won't be spared.

The MLA said he was sitting with a local RSS leader who suggested launching of an agitation to protest against the lynching of Saini.

Ahuja told PTI that he told the speaker that five Mev Muslims who were smuggling cows were "beaten up by our workers".

"It is the Mev people who smuggle and slaughter cow and Hindus have sentiments for cows, therefore, they target such smugglers," he said, adding it was his duty to protect his workers.

Sharing the video, Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra said it has exposed the BJP's true face.

"What more proof is needed of the BJP's religious terror and bigotry? The real face of the BJP has been exposed," he said.

In recent years, at least two incidents have taken place in Alwar where cow vigilantes attacked Mev community people on allegation of cow smuggling.

In one such incident, 55-year-old Pehlu Khan was lynched in Behror on April 1, 2017. Similarly, Rakbar Khan died after being beaten up in Lawandi village in Alwar's Ramgarh on July 20, 2018 on suspicion of cow smuggling.