family members of mob lynching victims with SIO chief Nahas Mala (extreme right) at Iftar get-together in New Delhi on 7 June 2017.

Mumtaz Alam, India Tomorrow .net,

New Delhi, June 7: Innovative and commendable idea, indeed. In the month of Ramazan, when political or social leaders and organizations generally attend or host VIP Iftar parties, a student group on Wednesday arranged a special Iftar event for families of those recently killed in mob lynching.

The Students Islamic Organisation of India or SIO invited family members of Haryana dairy farmer Pehlu Khan, Dadri iron smith Akhlaq Ahmad and others.

Khan, 55, was lynched by a brutal self-styled gang of cow vigilantes in Alwar district of Rajasthan in April this year when he, along with his two sons and nephew and neighbor Azmat Khan, was returning from Jaipur after purchasing some cows and calves from a government-run cattle market. His sons and Azmat sustained injuries but survived. They were also guests at the SIO Iftar today.

Mohammad Salim Engineer (extreme left), Secretary General of Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, with families of lynching victims

Ahmed, 50, was lynched by a similar mob in Dadri village of Uttar Pradesh in September 2015 following rumors that he ate and stored beef. His son was also brutally assaulted but he survived.

Another special guest at the event was Fatima Nafees, mother of missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed. First year student of M.Sc. (biotechnology), Najeeb mysteriously disappeared from hostel room day after his scuffle with some members of Hindu-right student group ABVP in October last year.

"We wanted to share happiness of Ramazan with families of mob lynching victims. We wanted to show solidarity with them," said an official of SIO just before the Iftar event began at the headquarters of the national students group.