The wife of the man who was lynched in Jharkhand’s Ramgarh district on suspicion of carrying beef has alleged that the mob that beat her husband to death mostly included Bajrang Dal activists. “They were rogues owing allegiance to the Bajrang Dal,” Mariam Khatoon told Hindustan Times on Friday.

Other reports also claimed that members of the Bajrang Dal Gau Raksha Samiti had stopped his vehicle and lynched him.

A group of people on Thursday had lynched Asgar Ansari near Bajartan village and set his van on fire. He was taken to a hospital by the police, where he died during treatment. The police have imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in Ramgarh district.

‘Not a beef trader’

Mariam Khatoon has denied claims that her husband traded in beef. “He was into coal trading,” she told Hindustan Times.

The man’s sister-in-law Abida Khatoon also blamed the police for patronising and protecting Bajrang Dal members. “They are targeting and killing Muslims, while the police are deliberately looking the other way.”

Ansari, who is survived by his wife and six children, was the only breadwinner.

Bajrang Dal denies involvement

While Bajrang Dal’s Ramgarh chief Chhotu Verma has been absconding since Thursday night, the group’s Jharkhand chief Devendra Gupta has denied any responsibility.

“It is unfortunate that the two organisations [Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad] have become soft targets,” he told Hindustan Times. “Anybody comes up and accuses the two organisations for rioting and lynching without any proof.”

Gupta further claimed that the Ramgarh units of these two outfits were dissolved in 2016.