On Tuesday (18th June), one Aurangzeb, also known as Mohammad Farid, died in strange circumstances in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district after which several Hindu traders and businessmen have been accused of his murder. The deceased’s family members have filed a case against the ten identified as the accused, alleging murder. So far, six accused have been arrested. At the same time, the Hindu accused’s family members have stated that Aurangzeb was a thief who invaded their homes intending to steal.
The Udyog Yuva Vyapar Mandal in the Mamu-Bhanja area of Aligarh has formed a support group for the accused Hindus. On 20th June, several businessmen submitted a memorandum to the local BJP MP, claiming themselves to be victims of the thieves. In the given case, they have alleged that the Hindu members are unnecessarily being targeted under the wrong sections for raising their voices against Halal products.
The Gandhi Park police station covers the Mamu-Bhanja area in Aligarh. The area includes Radio Market, which is home to hundreds of traders. The majority of the traders here are Hindus. Approximately half a dozen of the accused in the murder of Farid alias Aurangzeb are local businesspeople who operate in a variety of industries here.
Satish Gautam, the BJP MP from Aligarh, visited this market on Thursday, June 20. Dozens of businessmen gathered here and presented him with a memorandum. The memorandum states that in the incident in which action was to be taken under Section 304 (culpable homicide that does not amount to murder) of the IPC, Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been imposed due to pressure from Muslims.
Sections of culpable homicide imposed
Many businessmen, including Rajesh Garg, Rahul Garg, Sunil Rajni, Pankaj Aggarwal, and Kishan Arora, claim that they had no prior enmity with the deceased Aurangzeb. The businessmen accused in this case have no criminal background. As a result, this incident was not intentional.
It is reported that Aurangzeb was caught while stealing. Following this, people got angry and beat him up. The accused say that Aurangzeb was turned over to the police alive. If Aurangzeb dies later, a case should be made for culpable homicide, which is not murder and does not fall under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
Targeted after supporting action on Halal products
In the memorandum handed to the BJP MP, the traders stated that they are the target of conspirators both domestically and internationally. According to Vyapar Yuva Mandal, the major reason for the conspiracy against them is a boycott of Halal items. According to dealers, the market fully supported the Uttar Pradesh government’s action against Halal items in February 2024.
All market traders were prohibited from purchasing or selling halal goods. Traders claim that the boycott is being used to express anger by labeling them murderers and imposing other charges. They also say that tweets from outside and the actions of some local suspects back up his assertions.
The traders have also expressed apprehension in their memorandum that in the coming future, the traders of the Mamu-Bhanja area may be made victims of some conspiracy or the other. All of them have collectively demanded protection from the government. He also accused him of spreading propaganda to defame businessmen.
It is all propaganda so that thieves and dacoits can easily rob us
According to the memorandum handed to the BJP MP by local traders in Aligarh, the goal of disseminating such propaganda is also to ensure that if theft or other problems occur at their location in the future, they will not report out of fear. All of them agreed that numerous robbers had previously been apprehended here, the majority of whom belonged to a specific community (the Muslim population).
Traders claim that such shared angles are being circulated as part of a conspiracy, resulting in massive losses for their businesses. Traders have also alleged that the controversy over the incident is being generated so that traders will continue to tolerate theft and other instances without taking action.
