Indian police nabs six over fatal beating of Muslim

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Police in India have detained six people over the death of a Muslim man severely beaten by purported Hindu extremists over rumors that his family had eaten beef.

Mohammad Akhlaq, 50, was dragged out of his house on the suburbs of the Indian capital, New Delhi, and was assaulted by some 100 people on Monday night, a police officer said on Wednesday.

“When our team reached the spot, a crowd was there outside his house. They (police forces) managed to rescue him and take him to the hospital, but his life could not be saved,” said senior police officer Kiran S., adding, “We have arrested six people and deployed additional personnel to contain any further repercussions.”

Akhlaq’s 22-year-old son was also critically wounded in the attack and was taken to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at a nearby hospital.

The rumor that the family had eaten beef spread after a calf was reported missing in Dadri village, 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the capital.

“An announcement about the family consuming beef was made at a temple, after which the mob descended on the man’s house,” said Kiran.

According to Akhlaq’s daughter Sajida, the family had mutton in the fridge, not beef.

“They (the attackers) accused us of keeping cow meat, broke down our doors and started beating my father and brother. My father was dragged outside and beaten with bricks,” she said.

Killing cows is banned in many parts of India, a majority-Hindu country with a sizeable Muslim population of some 180 million.

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Saudi should ‘accept responsibility’, offer ‘apologies’ for Mina incident: FM spokeswoman

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman urged the Saudi government to accept full responsibility for a last week’s crush of people in Mina that killed thousands of Hajj pilgrims, including hundreds of Iranians, saying Riyadh owes the Islamic countries an apology.

Marziyeh Afkham on Tuesday once again blamed the tragic incident on Saudi Arabia’s “mismanagement and incompetence,” urging the Kingdom to stop shirking responsibility and shifting the blame onto others.

She said Riyadh’s obstinacy, deflecting the blame for Mina deaths and shirking responsibility for the disaster will further “taint the image of Saudi Arabia in the world.”

The Thursday crush of pilgrims in Mina, near the Saudi city of Mecca, has killed more than 4,000 people during religious rituals, marking the worst ever Hajj disaster.

So far, around 240 Iranian pilgrims have been pronounced dead in the incident. Some other Iranians are still unaccounted for.

Elsewhere in her comments, Afkham slammed Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir’s recent comments about development in Syria and Yemen as “unconstructive and irrelevant”, stressing that “military interference” in Syria and Yemen have just escalated extremism and instability across the region.

“By adopting belligerent policies, Saudi Arabia has unfortunately turned into the main source of spread of extremism and bellicosity,” she deplored.

The spokeswoman also called for the international community’s serious action to prevent Saudis from continuing their aggressive policies and killing of civilians.

Saudi Arabia has been involved in a military campaign against Yemen since March 26.

Leading a military coalition, Riyadh has been launching deadly air strikes against Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement in an attempt to restore power to the fugitive former President Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi.

On Monday, two airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition targeting the Houthis struck a wedding party, killing 28 people and wounding dozens.

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Senior cleric condemns Saudi regime for their neglect in Mina crush

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Ayatollah Mohsen Araki, the head of Tqrib Global Association condemned the Saudis neglects in Mina event and asked the World Court and other international associations to investigate the case.

Ayatollah Araki who was interviewing with the correspondent of the Center of Supervision on Mosques Affairs, stated his words in condemning Saudis. He said:

“Saudis at least were charged to deliver drinking water to the wounded. Even no SOS helicopter were not sent to shed water on their bodies in order to protect them in front of high temperature in Mina. Hundreds of people are killed in such condition that there had not been no bomb explosion or any other causes of suddenly death. They are died gradually. It means, Saudi SOS and police had enough time to save the wounded pilgrimages but they neglected and didn’t do that. Instead, they left the wounded people to be died slowly”

Ayatollah Araki continued: “It was not the first year of Mina Ceremonies execution. This ceremony backs to hundred years back. But it is never happened like this. Surely, closing the way caused to this incident. Those people who had been in Mina, know this matter very well that for happening such bitter event, just it enough to close one of the entrances ways to Mina. “

The head of Tqrib Global Association condemned the Saudis neglects in Mina event and asked the World Court and other international associations to investigate the case.

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Senegal Muslim scholars express condolence to Iranian families

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A number of Senegal Muslim scholars and cultural figures have sent condolence messages over the death of Iranian Hajj pilgrims in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca.

According to the Iranian Cultural Center in Senegal, Sheikh Muhammad Joop, director of Al-Huda Al-Mubin Educational Institute, Sheikh Ali Badr, the Friday prayers leader and imam of mosque in Kaolack region, and Sheikh Sharif Ambalo, director of Al Yasin Institute condoled the tragedy in a phone call with Seyyed Hassan Esmati, Iranian cultural attaché in Senegal.

Expressing their sympathy with the Iranian families of the pilgrims, the scholars asked for the formation of Hajj Committee in the Muslim World and stressed that the Saudi government should provide answers to all Muslims.

Some Senegalese scholars, such as Sheikh Muhammad Nyang have objected to the policy of the Saudi government and said that instead of inviting Senegal to cooperate in Hajj affairs, the Saudi government asks the African country to get involved in the war against Yemeni Muslims.

He added that this is while 10000 Senegalese Muslims participated in the Hajj rituals this year and five pilgrims of the country were martyred in the Mina incident and more than 60 others are still missing.

The Saudi government on Tuesday confirmed the death toll in the Mina crush has reached 4,173.

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry summons Saudi envoy for 4th time

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Iran’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Saudi charge d’affaires and warned him on any sort of delay in identification of missing people and transfer of victim’s bodies.

At a meeting with Saudi charge d’affaires, Ali Chegini reviewed the legal, customary and religious responsibilities of Saudi authorities towards pilgrims and emphasized the need for Saudi Arabia to take responsibility for the disaster in Mina and to identify the victims of the incident and immediate transfer of their bodies as well as helping to find the missing people and to treat the injured.

Chegini further deemed Saudi official’s apology to all Islamic nations for their failure as the reasonable duty of Saudi Arabia.

Pointing to the sensitivity and attention of Iranians towards the victims of the incident, he warned the Saudi official on any action which will postpone the transfer of the deceased to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Chegini further emphasized that Tehran has not issued any permission to Saudi Arabia to bury the bodies of Iranian victims and that all families have called for the transfer of the bodies to their homeland.

Meanwhile, Saudi charge d’affaires said he will transfer Iran’s views to his country’s governmnet as soon as possible.

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ISIS claims responsibility for killing Italian aid worker in Bangladesh

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ISIS has claimed responsibility for fatally shooting an Italian aid worker in the Bangladesh of Dhaka on Monday.

The group said in a statement that an allied security detachment in Dhaka has killed the Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella after tracking him.

ISIS statement added that Tavella was shot with silenced weapons.

The shooting took place in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone, where the victim was shot three times, police officials said.

“The attackers fled the scene after Tavella fell to the ground. He was rushed to a nearby private hospital where doctors declared him dead,” a police statement added.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government said in a statement that it did not have any proof regarding the ISIS claim.

Dhaka’s security commissioner Ohiduzzaman Mian told reporters: “We are not clear who killed him but we think it was a preplanned murder.”

Tavella, 50, was the project manager of Profitable Opportunities for Food Security (Proofs), a project of the Netherlands-based organisation ICCO Cooperation.

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Ayatollah Nouri Hamedani: Mina catastrophe defamed Al-Saud

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Ayatollah Hossein Nouri Hamedani said on Wednesday that Mina catastrophe has defamed Al Saud regime, Wahabism and those claiming to be the custodians of holy shrines in Mecca.

Al Saud regime has not revealed the exact number of casualties to save its face and only tried to lower the figures but the pressure exerted by world nations forced it to admit the deaths of 4,000 Haj pilgrims.

Mina catastrophe brought sorrow and dismay among world Muslims and the worst of all is that the Saudi regime avoids delivering bodies of stamped victims, he said.

All should know the real nature of Al-Saud that claims to be the custodian of holy shrines, he said.

The incident proved the mismanagement and incapability of Saudi officials in handling Haj rituals, said Ayatollah Hamedani.

Over 4,700 pilgrims were killed, injured or announced missing with the number of Iranian casualties standing at 239 and 241 are still missing.

Some 64,000 Iranian pilgrims went to Mecca for this year’s Haj pilgrimage.

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Photos: Counter-Terrorism Summit in New York

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Cartoon: Al-Quds caught in the grip of Zionist regime

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