NEW DELHI: A delegation of leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) visited the family of the Haryana teen who was murdered by a lynch mob on board a train on Thursday this week. The delegation, comprising senior CPM Politburo members Brinda Karat and Mohammed Salim , and Haryana state secretary Surinder Malik, among others, alleged that the attack was a result of the "sustained toxic propaganda of the sangh parivar against minority communities", and was the reason Muslims were feeling unsafe in public places.

Threatening to protest against the incident, the CPM delegation alleged that Modi government's slogan of "sab ka saath, sab ka vikas" was ringing hollow and demanded immediate arrest of the guilty, the identification of the political connections of the criminals, that appropriate criminal action be taken against them, and that security on all local trains on the Ballabhgarh route be increased.

The politburo members also said the family should be compensated for the loss of their son, and that proper, free treatment should be made available to the two brothers, Shakir and Hasheem, who survived the murderous attack that killed their teenage brother.

On Saturday, the CPI(M) delegation visited the Khandavli village in Haryana and met the family members of Junaid, Shakir, and Hashim who were attacked by a criminal communal mob on the Delhi-Mathura local train two days ago.

The delegation said it had learnt that no government official or BJP functionary contacted the family or expressed sorrow since the incident took place. They also said that while Junaid's father and brothers were called to the thana several times, only one criminal has been arrested so far.

The politburo members said the family told them that the young men travelling on this train to and from Delhi with identifiable signs of being Muslims, such as the skull cap or beard are routinely targeted by groups on the train.

In an official statement on Saturday, CPI(M) said, "Bhajanmandalis with battery operated mikes have converted many general compartments into exclusive religious zones and there are many aggressive and abusive comments made when Muslim men enter the compartments." The CPM leaders also said that the family reported harassment as a common experience and that everyone was fearful and apprehensive of such harassment when travelling. They also alleged that several complaints to the police were ignored.

Attacking the BJP-ruled Haryana government, and the NDA government in Delhi, the CPM delegation said the incident was motivated by communal considerations. "The question is how are armed men allowed onto trains. All the initial attackers were carrying big knives. They incited other passengers to join them in the lynching. Clearly, if such incidents can occur in a crowded train, it is because the perpetrators are confident of political support and patronage," the CPM alleged.

CPM leaders Brinda Karat and Mohammed Salim also said Saira, Junaid's mother, told them Junaid had just completed the course at a Madrassa in Surat and that she had given him Rs 1500 as a reward, with which to buy new clothes for Eid. "She wept when she said that he was observing the roza and that her sons were rushing back to break their fast at home but that she could not even give him his last morsel," Karat said.

