Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday met the family of a Muslim man lynched following rumours that he had eaten beef — and had kept it in his house — and called the murder “unfortunate”.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader was allowed to meet the distraught family of Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, after being refused permission to enter the Bisara village. The local administration took Kejriwal and his party leaders to a guest house where they were kept for about four hours, before being allowed into the village.
(Also read: Politics over Dadri killing: Kejriwal stopped from entering village)
CM with some AAP leaders visited Bisara village where Akhlaq’s family members reside.
Police, meanwhile, arrested two more people, taking the total number of accused arrested in the case to eight. Two other accused are on the run.
Kejriwal said, “The incident which occurred in this village is unfortunate. It should not have been occurred. This village has been peace loving… such things are very painful.”
He also met Hindu women who had earlier taken out a procession and blocked the entrance to the village, claiming the media and politicians were biased against them.
I m being accused of doing politics. Yes, i am doing politics.But i m doing politics of unity and love. They r doing politics of hatred(1/2)
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 3, 2015
Kejriwal spent about half-an-hour in the village and heard the woes of the Hindu families as well.
The chief minister and his colleagues were initially stopped by police from entering the village as over 500 Hindu women protested, complaining of a one-sided media coverage of the gory incident.
We firmly beileve that Hindus n Muslims have to stay united n not become vote banks. They want to divide people(2/2)
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 3, 2015
As some people protesting on the street hurled stones, Kejriwal’s motorcade was diverted to a guest house, police said.
But after waiting at the guest house for nearly four hours, Kejriwal and his team – Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas and Ashutosh – met the widow and the mother of the victim.