A faint imprint of the words “Allah” and “786”—a number linked to Islam—was noticeable above the wooden front door of the white-plastered pucca house of a 62-year-old farmer, Samayadeen, in a corner of Madapur-Mustafabad village in western Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The compound inside had plenty of sunlight and was airy, big enough to spread two large cots and store piles of cow dung cakes. A buffalo was tied inside a shed facing the inner courtyard.

A police guard's round-the-clock presence was a constant reminder of the security threat Samaydeen faced. He was the survivor and injured eyewitness in a 2018 lynching in which a 45-year-old goat trader, Qasim, was murdered by a Hindu mob in daylight over fabricated rumours of cow slaughter.

Even in the calm setting, where farmers like him grew wheat, sugarcane and mustard, and children played with handpumps, Samaydeen's face reflected nervousness. His white kurta pyjama, white flowing beard and white netted skullcap distinguished him from the lush green field behind him—the same fields where he was nearly killed by a violent mob in 2018.

Yet, he hoped the Indian judiciary would provide him justice one day.

That day came on 12 March 2024—almost six years after the incident.

“Kudrat ka kamaal tha (It was destiny at work). Perhaps the universe saved me so I could fight the case and get justice for myself and Qasim,” Samaydeen told Article 14, speaking over the phone following the judgment.

Samaydeen’s testimony of the crime committed on 18 June 2018, and identification of the accused persons proved to be among the clinching evidence based on which a court in Hapur convicted 10 dominant caste Hindu men—many of them young—for the brutal murder and sentenced them to life imprisonment.



Read more - https://article-14.com/post/how-a-muslim-man-fought-a-police-cover-up-to-get-justice-after-6-years-in-a-2018-lynching-66038891c9e2a