By Shubham Kumar
35-year-old Sheikh Mukandar Mohammad had left home for work before dawn. The date was 14 January. Mukandar, who lived in Balasore, Odisha, was a mason.
When masonry work wasn’t available, he would load vehicles. That day he had gotten loading work. The family was waiting for him to return in the evening when they received a call that Mukandar was in the hospital. They learned that a mob had severely beaten him on allegations of cattle smuggling.
After a few hours of treatment, Mukandar passed away.
Police have arrested 6 people under mob lynching charges. Most of the accused are between 22 to 25 years old.
All are associated with Hindu organizations. They are accused of beating Mukandar with sticks, forcing him to chant Jai Shri Ram. They also made a video of the beating, which later went viral.
Mukandar’s murder accused are in jail, but his family is bearing the punishment. Wife Manauri has a two-month-old daughter in her lap. Father was paralyzed 6-7 years ago, so he cannot walk. He sits leaning against the wall. There is a family of 6 people, whose responsibility was on Mukandar.
The family has received 20 thousand rupees as aid from the Tehsildar. To this Manauri says, ‘What will happen with 20 thousand rupees. That much money was spent just in burying my husband.’
This story was originally published in bhaskarenglish.in. Read the full story here.
