For remarks against Tablighi Jamaat, Hindu man shot dead in UP. Accused Mohammad Sona nabbed.

Hindu man in Prayagraj shot dead by Muslim at tea shop for blaming Tablighi Jamaat for corona virus spread.

Amit Tripathi | HENB | Prayagraj | April 5, 2020:: On Sunday, a 30-year-old Hindu man named Lotan Nishad was shot dead by one Mohammed Sona in the Bakshi Moda area in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh as the deceased accused the Islamic Missionary Movement of Tablighi Jamaat for endangering the lives of other people as the carrier of Covid 19.  Nishad was shot while he sitting at a tea shop and reading a newspaper after having a cup of tea. Nishad died on the spot as other witnessed.

The victim was commenting on the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz in Delhi which has led to several hundreds of coronavirus cases being detected across states. He got into an altercation with another Muslim person sitting at the tea shop.

According to police, the incident took place at 9:30 am on Sunday when the two engaged in an argument and the dispute quickly escalated. The accused opened fire and killed the man after opening fire.

The victim died on the spot. Locals in the area caught hold of the accused and handed him over to the police. The man has been arrested.

Meanwhile, Prayagraj SSP has appealed to the people to maintain peace and not to cause tension over the incident.

Uttar Pradesh government has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the family of the deceased.

Police reached the spot after receiving a call from locals and took the accused into custody. At present, heavy police force has been deployed on the spot to prevent any kind of escalation.

The Uttar Pradesh Police later said that eight people have been arrested in connection with the matter and also clarified that neither the accused, nor the victim have been found to be directly associated with the Jamaat. (But, they may be hidden supporters of Tabligh as concerned with the criticism agaist Tablighi Jamaat – Ed. HinduExistence).

Uttar Pradesh has so far reported 227 coronavirus cases. India has so far recorded over 3000 coronavirus cases while a majority of the spike in positive cases recently were attributed to the Nizamuddin congregation of Tablighi Jamaat.

Over 2000 people, including foreigners from Malaysia and Indonesia, were part of the religious congregation in Nizamuddin that defied social distancing norms and even the initial days of lockdown.

Government officials have said over 1000 positive coronavirus cases have been found to have links with the Tablighi Jamaat event.

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__inputs from Pankaj Jha, Deepak Chaurasia and Prayagraj Police in Twitter.