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Video Editor: Mohd Irshad Alam
Cameraperson: Akanksha Kumar
Days after being attacked by a mob at Pakur in Jharkhand, social activist Swami Agnivesh has alleged that the district administration has not taken adequate action in the matter.
In an exclusive interview with The Quint, the 78-year-old social activist recounted the horrors of 17 July, when workers of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) allegedly attacked him and ripped his signature turban off his head.
I pleaded with folded hands in front of the mob. Yet the angry mob comprising 100-150 persons didn’t pay any heed, he alleged.
Agnivesh alleged that the Jharkhand Police has not been probing the matter with due diligence. Eight persons were named in the FIR. However, they were released a day after the attack, he said.
Mob violence has claimed over 66 lives across the country since 2015.
On 20 July, 31-year-old Rakbar Khan was killed by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan’s Alwar. Recounting the string of horrific instances of lynching – from Akhlaq in Dadri to Pehlu Khan in Alwar – Swami Agnivesh demanded to know why PM Modi was silent on the violence.
The Prime Minister has time to make speeches and communicate via his radio programme, Mann Ki Baat, the activist said, adding: “Why isn’t he speaking on the issue of lynchings?”
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Published: 22 Jul 2018,08:46 PM IST