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Cow's life very important: VHP

By Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI OCT. 18. The Vishwa Hindu Parishad today denied its activists were involved in the lynching of five Dalit youths in Jhajhar, Haryana, on October 16, but at the same time it held that "according to Hindu shastras the life of a cow was very important".

(The Dalits allegedly "skinned alive" a cow, a charge that was denied.)

The senior VHP leader, Giriraj Kishore, said the Bajrang Dal leader, Surendra Jain, had been asked to inquire into the incident, especially the allegation that VHP activists were involved in the lynching.

"I will only say that if a cow was killed or was skinned alive, that could have triggered a mob fury, but if a dead cow was skinned, it would be a different question," Mr. Kishore said. And, in response to a question on the value of the life of a cow as against that of Dalits, his response was: "in our (Hindu) shastras, the life of a cow was very important".

The BJP spokesperson, Sunil Shastri, was quite mild in his criticism of the incident. "We condemn all violence wherever it takes place,'' he said.

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