Another partition soon if lynchings in the name of cow continue, warns PDP leader

Srinagar, July 28: Former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig on Saturday warned that the country would face another Partition soon if the incidents of lynching were not curbed.

Referring to the incidents of mob lynching in the name of cow vigilantism, Baig said, "We want to appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that killing of Muslims in the name of cow be stopped. One partition has already taken place in 1947, (but) more could take place if these continue." He said the PDP had allied with the BJP not for power but to ensure that justice was done to Muslims across the country and to the Kashmiri people.

"We allied with the BJP so that they can trust Muslims. We allied with the BJP so that justice is done to Muslims and Kashmiris and talks with Pakistan can take place," he added.

Baig's reaction came after several lynchings on beef smuggling suspicion by cow vigilantes.

On July 21, a 28-year-old man Akbar Khan was allegedly beaten to death in Rajasthan's Alwar district by an agitated mob on suspicion of cow smuggling. He was taking some cows to his village through a forest near Lalawandi area when the locals thrashed him brutally.

The incidents of mob lynching have been on a rise in the country. As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynchingacross nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018.