Killing of Noman: Difference between revisions

{{Incident infobox

|date=2015-10-14

|lat=30.7205

|lon=77.1875

|killed=1

|injured=4

|trigger=cattle transport

}}

<translate>

'''Noman''' (also reported as Noman Akhtar), a young man from Saharanpur district in [[Uttar Pradesh]], was beaten to death by a mob in Sirmaur district, [[Himachal Pradesh]], on 14 October 2015 after villagers saw him and four other men transporting cattle in a truck.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /><ref name="jkr-2015" /> Police registered a murder case, and by the end of October eleven people had been arrested.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /><ref name="awaaz-2015" /> The killing occurred less than three weeks after the [[Lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq]].<ref name="aljazeera-2015" />

Cow slaughter is banned in Himachal Pradesh.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /> According to police, Sirmaur district, which borders Uttarakhand, is a transit route for cattle smuggled from Punjab to Uttar Pradesh, and cattle theft is common in the area.<ref name="jkr-2015" /> Noman was from Saharanpur district in Uttar Pradesh; Reuters reported his age as 20, and other reports described him as a daily-wage labourer.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /><ref name="ummid-2015" /> Reuters reported that the killing came amid national tension over the beef trade, with opponents accusing the governing Bharatiya Janata Party of stoking religious tension ahead of state elections in Bihar.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" />

On the evening of Wednesday, 14 October 2015, villagers attacked Noman and four other men after seeing them transporting cattle in a truck. According to reports, the villagers suspected that five cows and ten oxen were being taken to Uttar Pradesh for slaughter.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /> The attack took place in a village about 28 km from Nahan, the district headquarters, in the Sarahan area; the Hindustan Times named the village as Lavasa.<ref name="jkr-2015" /><ref name="ht-2015" />

Noman was beaten to death, and his four companions were injured and admitted to hospital at Sarahan.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /><ref name="jkr-2015" /> A medical report recorded “multifarious blunt injuries”.<ref name="jkr-2015" /> The four surviving men were booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and the state's cow slaughter law.<ref name="jkr-2015" /><ref name="aljazeera-2015" />

Police registered a murder case against unidentified persons.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /> Superintendent of Police Somya Sambasivan said that the people who had alerted police to the cattle transport might have carried out the killing, and declined to comment on the political affiliation of the attackers. Police also said that Noman was an undertrial in a separate cattle theft case.<ref name="jkr-2015" /> By 18 October police had detained six people, and security was increased in the village.<ref name="ht-2015" />

On 29 October 2015 The Indian Awaaz reported that eleven people had been arrested in connection with the killing, eight of them in Mohali district of Punjab and three at other locations.<ref name="awaaz-2015" /> The Vishwa Hindu Parishad alleged that innocent young men had been arrested without evidence, claimed that Noman had died in hospital at Sarahan after being taken into police custody, and demanded a judicial inquiry.<ref name="awaaz-2015" />

Noman's family denied that he was a cattle smuggler and said he had been hired to transport machinery. His father, Sayeed Akhtar, said his son was innocent and alleged that the Bajrang Dal could have been involved.<ref name="aljazeera-2015" /> Reports said the killing caused tension and public anger in the Behat area of Saharanpur district.<ref name="ummid-2015" /> Police did not comment on claims of political involvement in the attack.<ref name="jkr-2015" />

</translate>

<references>

<ref name="aljazeera-2015">{{Cite news|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/news/2015/10/17/mob-kills-suspected-cattle-smuggler-in-india|title=Mob kills suspected cattle smuggler in India|publisher=Al Jazeera (Reuters)|date=2015-10-17|access-date=2026-10-31}}</ref>