Muslim Man in Agra Shot Dead, Another Injured; Police Denies Link to Pahalgam Attack

New Delhi: A Muslim man working at a restaurant in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra was shot dead by two unidentified persons late on Wednesday night. The deceased person was identified as Gulfam, while his brother Saif Ali, who was present when they were closing the biryani eatery after the day’s business, was also shot but had a narrow escape with an injury to his neck.

The incident became a matter of public interest after two men claiming to be self-styled gau rakshaks (cow vigilantes) posted a video on Instagram claiming responsibility for shooting two Muslim men in Agra. They claimed that the shooting was to avenge the killing of 26 tourists in Pahalgam in Jammu and Kashmir.

The police, however, stressed that the said outfit Kshatriya Gau Raksha Dal was not active in Agra and warned people on social media that legal action would be taken against anyone spreading unverified and misleading content about the incident.

The police also dismissed reports which claimed that before shooting Gulfam and Saif, the assailants had asked for their names and religion. 

Talking to reporters after the incident, Saif said that on April 23, around 11:45 pm they were closing the restaurant when two men walked up to them after parking their scooter some distance away. 

“They said hello to Gulfam and he said hi back to them. And then they pulled out a pistol and shot him,” said Saif, adding that he was also shot. A bullet or bullet pellets grazed his neck. Gulfam was declared ‘brought dead’ at a local hospital.

Saif said that he did not know the assailants. The brothers also did not have any dispute with anyone. “Nothing had ever happened,” said Saif.

Meanwhile, a video started circulating on social media in which a person identifying himself as Manoj Chaudhary, an alleged member of the Kshatriya Gau Raksha Dal, said he had killed two Muslims in Agra.

“Two k#### (slur) were killed in Taj city Agra. Kshatriya Gau Raksha Dal takes responsibility for this. We take an oath over Bharat Mata, that if we do not avenge 26 with 2600 I am not a son of Bharat Mata. Jai Shri Ram, Jai Hindu Rashtra,” said Manoj Chaudhary, who was armed with knives and a pistol. His associate, whose identity was not known, also carried similar weapons.

After the video started being widely circulated, Agra police issued a statement saying that no such outfit called the Kshatriya Gau Raksha Dal was active in Agra. The police, however, did not explain if two men seen in the video were their suspects. The video uploaded by Manoj Chaudhary was soon deleted by him from his Instagram page.

On the targetted attack, Agra police said there appeared to have been a dispute over food.

Agra police also said that three friends of Gulfam who were at the scene when the incident happened did not mention anything to his kin or to the police about any such communal profiling.  Later on April 24, police released a video in which a police officer was heard questioning Saif about the incident. 

When the police asked Saif if the assailants asked for their names or religion, he said nothing as such happened. “There was no issue about names,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Agra police threatened legal action against those who post “malicious, misleading, factually incorrect or irresponsible” posts about the incident. 

“Don't post any such news on social media which could spoil social harmony and amity,” said Agra police.

An FIR was lodged in the case. Teams had been formed to nab the culprits and uncover the case, the police said.

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