Jammu: Tension gripped the Jammu region on October 8 following rumors about cow slaughter.
Jammu city and Chenani town in Udhampur district in Jammu and Kashmir state remained tense after rumors said a Muslim had killed a cow. Scores of Hindus blocked the Jammu-Srinagar highway at Chenani, 80 km from Jammu, reports twocircles.net.
The district magistrate and senior superintendent of police of Udhampur rushed to the spot.
“There is no truth in these rumors and we have appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony,” a senior police officer in Udhampur.
Authorities increased security in areas of Jammu city where Hindus and Muslims live.
With no official ready to go on record, informed sources said Internet services on mobile phones had been suspended in Jammu to prevent anti-social elements from stoking communal passions.
Similar rumors led to the lynching of Mohammad Akhlaq Saif, a 52-year-old Muslim, on September 28 in Bisara village near Dadri in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. A mob attacked Akhlaq’s family alleging that they had eaten beef. Akhlaq’s 22-year-old son Danish was also seriously wounded in the attack.