AIKS Demands Law Against Lynching and Hate Crimes

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has called for a strict anti-lynching law after meeting families of three cattle transporters killed in Chhattisgarh. The AIKS alleges the murders were premeditated hate crimes and demands a compensation of Rs 1 crore for each family, a job for one kin, and judicial inquiry.

The All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) on Saturday demanded a stringent law against lynching and hate crimes, following a meeting with families of three cattle transporters who were killed after allegedly being chased by a mob in Chhattisgarh last month.

The AIKS described the incident as a ''planned killing'' in a statement issued after a delegation comprising its members and those from the All India Agricultural Workers Union (AIAWU) met the victims' families. The delegation visited the families of Tehsim Qureshi in Banat town, and Chand Mian and Saddam Qureshi in Lakhnauti village of Uttar Pradesh, providing cheques of Rs 1 lakh each as immediate relief.

The cattle transporters were killed on June 7 near the Mahanadi bridge at the Mahasamund-Raipur border of Chhattisgarh.

AIKS noted that the murders occurred just days after the Lok Sabha election results were declared, where the BJP-NDA came to power with a reduced majority. Similar attacks on Muslims have followed in several states, the statement said.

The delegation included Rajya Sabha MP and AIAWU treasurer V Sivadasan, AIKS president Ashok Dhawale, and general secretary Vijoo Krishnan, among others. So far, no government officials have visited the family of Tehsim Qureshi, while only the subdivisional magistrate visited the families in Lakhnauti village, stated AIKS. No compensation or treatment expenditure has been provided to these families by the state governments of Chhattisgarh or Uttar Pradesh, both led by the BJP, it added.

The AIKS demanded Rs 1 crore compensation for each family and a permanent job for one kin by the Chhattisgarh government. Alleging it was a planned attack, AIKS said the incident happened between 2-3 am on June 7, when a gang of 11-12 followed the truck loaded with buffaloes and attacked the workers at the Mahanadi bridge. The state police registered an FIR under sections 304 and 307 IPC, but not under Section 302 for murder, revealing a ''rabidly communal bias,'' AIKS claimed. Among those belatedly arrested is Raja Agrawal, the district propaganda chief of the BJYM.

The AIKS also called for a judicial inquiry into the incident and demanded a law against hate crimes. They held Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the surge in hate crimes against Muslims post-elections and accused RSS and its affiliates of instigating hatred against minorities. The AIKS urged the Union government and Parliament to enact a stringent law against mob lynching and hate crimes, establish fast-track courts for such cases, and protect the interests of cattle farmers, traders, and workers. The organization also called for a protest day on July 24 against ''RSS-driven hate crimes against cattle farmers and workers.''