A 21-year-old Muslim youth in Maharashtra, India, has been beaten to death in what rights groups describe as another case of mob lynching targeting minorities.
Suleman Rahim Khan, from Chhoti Betawad in Jalgaon district’s Jamner taluka, was abducted in broad daylight, assaulted in multiple locations, and left lifeless outside his home on Friday.
His parents and sister were also attacked when they tried to save him, Maktoob reported.
Police say the attack began when a group of Hindu men confronted Suleman reportedly while he was with a 17-year-old Hindu girl at a cafe near Jamner police station.
He was forced into a vehicle, taken to several spots, and beaten with sticks and iron rods before being brought back to his village for a final assault.
Instead of being taken to hospital, his body was dumped at his doorstep. His father told Maktoob: “There was not a single inch on my son’s body without wounds… Suleman was my only son. I will not rest until the culprits face the harshest punishment.”
Suleman had recently finished school and was preparing to apply for the police force.
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The killing has heightened communal tensions in the area, drawing comparisons with the lynching of a Muslim man in Beed earlier this year.
Community leaders are demanding charges under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act, calling it a “textbook case of gang violence.”
Former MP Imtiaz Jaleel accused police of pressuring the family to bury Suleman before all suspects were arrested.
Human rights groups say the killing is symptomatic of a “complete breakdown of law and order” in the state.
On Monday, hundreds of residents staged a sit-in at Jamner police station, prompting senior officers to meet protesters.
Police have arrested four men and are searching for at least five others. The case has been registered under India’s new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder, kidnapping, rioting and unlawful assembly.
Mob lynchings targeting Muslims in India have been a significant concern, particularly in recent years, with many incidents linked to cow vigilantism and communal tensions.
In 2024, the Centre for Study of Society and Secularism (CSSS) reported 13 mob lynchings, resulting in 11 deaths, nine of which were Muslims, with six linked to cow vigilantism.
These incidents often occur under the pretext of protecting cows, considered sacred by many Hindus, and are exacerbated by political and religious polarisation, particularly in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, where 49 of 59 communal riots in 2024 were recorded.
