The brutal lynching of an Adivasi man accused of stealing some grocery items in Kerala, has appalled the entire nation. Madhu, 30, was tied with a cloth and beaten with sticks by a mob which took selfies and videos of him moments before his death. The incident has left most people shocked with many expressing their outrage on social media platforms.
ALSO READ: Kerala Shamed! Adivasi Man Lynched For Stealing Rice While Mob Shares Selfies & Videos
However, amidst the collective outrage, here is cricketing legend Virendra Sehwag whose ill-informed reaction poses all the risks of triggering hatred and communal divide.
The former cricketer tweeted that ‘a mob of Ubaid, Hussain and Abdul Kareem’ lynched the poor tribal to death.
Madhu stole 1 kg rice. A mob of Ubaid , Hussain and Abdul Kareem lynched the poor tribal man to death. This is a disgrace to a civilised society and I feel ashamed that this happens and kuch farak nahi padta. pic.twitter.com/LXSnjY6sF0
— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) February 24, 2018
According to a report by The Indian Express, a group of seven local residents cornered Madhu inside the forest nearby, detained him at a bus shelter in Mukkali and informed police. It stated that when police arrived, Hussain Muhammed, Manu Damodaran, Abdul Rahman, Abdul Latheef, Abdul Kareem, AP Ummer and Mathachan Joseph pushed Madhu into the jeep along with a bag of rice and accused him of stealing it. Another report said that 10 people have been taken into custody by the police.
However, Sehwag chose to highlight only three Muslim names from this mob which was responsible for Madhu’s murder. Why were only these three named? Targeting a community for the crimes of a few, while at the same time ignoring the other culprits because they are not Muslims by a sporting icon with more than 15.9 million followers on Twitter, is irresponsible at the very least.
While all the accused, irrespective of their religion, deserve exemplary punishment for their horrific crime, selective accusations can only spread hatred.
But people were quick to point out the communal nature of his tweet and brought sense into him:
Thanks for cherry picking Muslim names, Sehwag! In your blind rush to make it communal, you missed the names of Manu and Mathachan in the mob. Kerala isn’t your cowbelt.
And it’s so good of a cricketer like you to speak on this but how did you miss the lynching in your cowshed? https://t.co/aY2vFE4zGb
— Sankar Das (@mallucomrade) February 24, 2018
Time to take some English lessons Viru. It will help u in commentating career also if you take it seriously. Mob means a large crowd and not just 3 people.
Alternatively Pakode talo
— Ajay (@Arien2203) February 24, 2018
So.. I think every one should change his thinking about the religion. We should not connect these things to religion either hindu or Muslims.
— Ravi Pandey (@pravi4071) February 24, 2018
sir, incomplete info is as dangerous as rumors:
“Hussain Muhammed, Manu Damodaran, Abdul Rahman, Abdul Latheef, Abdul Kareem, A P Ummer and Mathachan Joseph” are the accused.https://t.co/b3Stlwunvz pic.twitter.com/PRNBuoFTKT— Cha Cha (@TheLegendChap) February 24, 2018
About time someone reigned in lour Twitter celebs and made them accountable for the garbage they spout on the regular.
