Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Meets Junaid’s Family, Extends Support

“I assured Junaid’s family that secular people in India will always be there with the family,” the Kerala CM said.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on 26 July, met the family of Junaid – the 16-year-old boy who was lynched on a train in June this year.

Junaid’s parents, Shahira and Jalaludheen, along with his brothers, Hasheem and Shakhir, and other relatives visited the Chief Minister at Kerala House in New Delhi. CPI (M) Politburo member Brinda Karat and DYFI national president Mohammed Riyas also accompanied the family.

Also Read: In Junaid’s Khandawli Village, Muslims’ Anger is Shrouded in Fear

Also Read: Junaid’s Family Demands Death Sentence for Arrested Prime Accused

"The family of Junaid, a madrasa student from Haryana, who was killed by communal fundamentalists in a train came to meet me at Kerala House in Delhi. I have assured them that secular people in the country will always be there with the family," the CM said in a statement on his official page.

I have told them that all help will be given. I have also promised them help to complete the construction of the study centre that the family has begun at Khambi village in UP.

The teenager was stabbed to death by a mob on a train on 22 June. He and his companions were abused with religious slurs and were accused of carrying beef in their bags.

Also Read: In Hindu Village of Junaid’s Attackers, Muslims Spurned as ‘Other’

Watch The Quint’s recreation of Junaid’s fatal train journey below:

Kerala has been in the news for many months over its oppositions to any curbs on consumption of beef.

Also Read: Fighting Slaughter Rules, Kerala Traders to Start Own Cattle Farms

Soon after the Centre brought out a notification in May placing stringent regulations on the sale of cattle for slaughter, CM Pinarayi had written to his counterparts urging them to oppose what he called an attempt to weaken the federal system of the country.

Also Read: Post Cattle Slaughter Ban, Beef Price Surged Globally: Report

The CM had also written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the notification.

Also Read: Kerala Government to Take Centre to Court Over Cow Slaughter Rules

(This article was originally published in The News Minute, and has been re-published here with permission)

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