Tension prevailed in Mohammadpur village in Chandauli district of Uttar Pradesh when agitated Hindus gheraoed a minority-dominated locality after finding the carcass of a cow-calf stolen on Thursday morning.
Significantly, the alleged calf slaughtering took place in the hometown of the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP State President Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey. Both senior BJP leaders hail from Chandauli district in Uttar Pradesh.
Timely action by the police, however, averted a communal clash in the village. The carcass of the stolen cow calf was recovered from the house of a Muslim family in the minority-dominated Mohammadpur village.
“The calf was stolen on Thursday early morning. During our search, we found blood and remnants of the calf from the house of a Muslim. The family is alleged to have stolen the calf and slaughtered it for meat,” charged an agitated Santosh Kumar, a villager.
On hearing the news of calf slaughtering, a large number of Hindus stormed the minority-dominated village. But before they could attack and indulge in violence, the police rushed to the locality and averted communal clash between members of the two communities.
Villagers in Mohammadpur, however, feigned ignorance about the carcass found from one of the household in the village. “It seems handiwork of some mischievous elements to leave the carcass in our area so to put the blame on us and create communal trouble,” said Mohd Rizwan, a village elder.
Devendra Nath, the Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), said that heavy police has been deployed in the village to check any fall-out of the incident. The ASP has also held meetings with village elders to request them maintain peace and communal harmony.
“A case has been registered against unidentified persons on calf stealing. We have also detained a few persons for questioning to ascertain how carcass was found in one of the house in the village. Investigations are on and we will soon arrest those behind the incident,” said the ASP.
