In Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district, a gruesome murder of a 22-year-old man sparked public outrage and the burning down of the chief suspect’s home by an angry crowd.
Manohar Lal, the victim, went missing on June 6 and his body was discovered on June 9 buried beneath some stones with his body sliced into eight parts. Due to the fact that he was having an affair with a Muslim woman, police believe it to be an honour killing. Sharif Mohammed, the woman’s father, is charged in this case.
The mob flocked to the streets on Thursday to condemn the gruesome murder, yelling anti-government chants, setting Sharif Mohammed’s home on fire, and even storming the neighbourhood police station. In this case, eight people have been taken into custody including Sharif and his daughter. Additionally, the police discovered transactions in Sharif’s bank accounts totaling more than 2 crore throughout the inquiry.
The government issued prohibitory measures under Section 144 for a period of two months following the violent protests. BJP demanded an NIA probe as during a press conference former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Jai Ram Thakur said, “The accused, Sharif Mohammad, was also earlier questioned in connection with a terror incident reported in 1998, in which 35 people were killed and seven others were taken hostage by the Kashmiri militants.”
Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu in a statement said, “Such incidents should not be flared up to achieve ulterior motives just for the sake of politics at the cost of communal harmony. The law will follow its due course. We are with the family of the deceased and will extend all possible assistance to support them.” He also asked the BJP to not give this case a communal angle.
Meanwhile, the BJP will hold a statewide protest in all 12 districts of the state on Saturday.