Anantnag (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], December 28 : People's Democratic Party (PDP) Chief Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday expressed concern over the lynching of a labourer from West Bengal in Odisha's Sambalpur and the death of a tribal MBA student, Angel Chakma, in Uttarakhand after an alleged assault and said that the atmosphere this time in the country is dangerous, fearful.
She alleged that the India of Mahatma Gandhi and former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru has been turned into a 'Lynchistan'.
Speaking to reporters, Mehbooba Mufti said, "The atmosphere this time in the country is dangerous, fearful. You have seen when some of our Hindu brothers were lynched in Bangladesh, there was hue and cry, but when lynching happens in our own country, it starts with 'Ikhlaq' and doesn't stop. The India of Gandhi and Nehru has been turned into a 'Lynchistan'"
Earlier, AIMIM MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday also raised concerns about incidents of violence within India.
"On December 24, a labourer from West Bengal was lynched in Odisha's Sambalpur. A tribal boy doing MBA in Uttarakhand was beaten up, Angel Chakma. He died. So these are all clear examples of how when the rule of law breaks and majority-run politics overtakes everything, these lynchings happen, which we have to condemn," he added.
Owaisi also spoke on the recent developments in Bangladesh, calling for the protection of minorities and stressing the need for regional stability.
Speaking to ANI, Owaisi said his party strongly condemned the killing of Deepu Chandra Das and Amrit Mondal in Bangladesh and supported the steps being taken by the Government of India to maintain strong ties with the neighbouring country.
"As far as our party is concerned, we condemn what happened to Deepu Chandra Das and Amrit Mondal, and we support whatever steps the Government of India is taking to ensure that the relationship with Bangladesh remains stronger," he said.
His remarks come after, earlier on Wednesday, the Daily Star reported that a Hindu youth identified as Amrit Mondal was lynched at Hosendanga village of Kalimohor union in Rajbari's Pangsha sub-district over an extortion allegation.
The murder of Mondal took place days after the mob lynching and burning of the Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, in Bangladesh's Mymensingh district.
A worker in a garment factory, Dipu Chandra Das, was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy charges and had his body hanged and set on fire on December 18.
The Daily Star, citing Mymensingh's Additional Superintendent of Police, Abdullah Al Mamun, stated that a factory official had informed Bhaluka police that a group of workers attacked Dipu inside the factory, accusing him of making "derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH)" in a Facebook post.
However, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-14 Company Commander in Mymensingh, Md Samsuzzaman, told The Daily Star that investigators found no evidence suggesting the deceased had posted or written anything on Facebook that could have hurt religious sentiments.