In Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, a 21-year-old Muslim man, Suleman Rahim Khan Pathan, was allegedly beaten to death by members of a Hindutva group on Monday. The incident occurred in the town of Jamner after Suleman was seen talking to a Hindu woman at a cafe.
According to a relative, Abdullah Pathan, Suleman and the woman were at the Brand Cafe in Jamner when the cafe owner identified Suleman as Muslim and the woman as Hindu. The owner then allegedly called a group of young men from the neighborhood. These men reportedly took Suleman to the Sonbardi temple near Jamner and assaulted him. The assault continued in a nearby village and then at the Betawad bus stand, where he was publicly thrashed again.
Suleman's family – his father Rahim Khan Pathan, mother Tabassum, grandfather, and sister – rushed to the scene to save him. However, they were also attacked by the mob. Rahim Khan stated that there "was not a single inch on my son's body without wounds". He added that when the family tried to save Suleman, the mob turned their violence towards them.
The family initially took Suleman to a private hospital, which refused to admit him due to a lack of specialized facilities. He was then taken to a civil hospital, where he was declared dead.
Police have arrested four people in connection with the murder and are searching for five others. The first information report (FIR) names five men: Abhishek Rajput, Ranjeet Matade, Aaditya Devre, Krishna Teli, and Sojwal Teli, and also lists 12 unidentified men as accused persons. The Jamner police have registered a case of murder, abduction, rioting, criminal intimidation, and breach of peace under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Jalgaon Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Reddy stated that the killing appeared to be linked to an "inter-community relationship" but added that the matter was under investigation, and the exact motive behind the crime could not be stated at this time. He also mentioned that additional forces from the crime branch and Nashik Range have been deployed to maintain order.
Suleman, a resident of Betawad village in Jalgaon district, had recently completed his education and was preparing to apply for police recruitment. According to his relative, Abdullah, Suleman had gone to Jamner on August 11 to fill out a police recruitment form.
The incident has sparked outrage and heightened communal tensions in the area. Javed Mullaji, a former corporator in Jalgaon, called the incident an attack on the Muslim community. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader and former MP Imtiaz Jaleel condemned the lynching and demanded strict action against the murderers. He also accused the police of pressuring the family to conduct the last rites before all the accused were arrested.
Relatives and community leaders are demanding that the accused be booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), calling the attack "a textbook case of gang violence". Human rights groups have described the incident as "a complete breakdown of law and order" and have criticized the administration for failing to prevent such attacks.
The killing has drawn comparisons to the lynching of a Muslim man in Beed earlier this year and has raised serious questions about the safety of Muslims in the region.
