Muslims should stop eating beef: UP Shia Waqf Board chief

New Delhi [India], Jul 24 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Shia Waqf Board chairman Waseem Rizvi said that Muslims should stop eating beef.

Speaking to ANI, Rizvi said that even in Islam cow meat is considered 'haram' (forbidden). He pitched for strict action against culprits who kill cows.

"Muslims should stop eating beef. Killing of cows should stop. You cannot stop mob lynching, security cannot be deployed everywhere. So a law should be made awarding strict punishment to those killing cows," Rizvi said.

Backing the statement of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Indresh Kumar on cow killing, Rizvi further said that someone with status of a mother should not be killed.

"I think Indresh Kumar's statement has a point. Religious sentiments should not be hurt. You can't kill someone who is given the status of a mother by a community," he added.

The RSS leader has drawn flak from various quarters including the Congress for his lynching remark.

On Monday, while addressing a conference in Delhi, the RSS leader said, "If cow-killing is stopped then mob lynchings will also automatically end. And the violence in any form practiced by any person belonging to any caste, sex, religion is a deplorable act. In India, there is no such belief which okays cow slaughtering for religious practices."

His remark comes on the backdrop of Rajasthan's Alwar lynching incident where a 28-year-old Akbar Khan was allegedly beaten to death by an agitated mob on suspicions of cow smuggling. (ANI)

This story has not been edited. It has been published as provided by ANI