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Tamil Nadu Youth Hacked To Death For Being Atheist, His Father Says He Will Also Become One

He was betrayed by his friends.
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Days after H Farook, a youth in Tamil Nadu was murdered for his atheist views allegedly by a Muslim radical group, his father has said that if his son was killed for being an atheist, he would become an atheist too.

The Indian Express quoted Farook's father R Hameed as saying, "If the police version is true, that he was murdered by a radical Muslim group, then they killed my son using wrong interpretations of the Quran. The Quran is one holy book that insists on and allows the right of dissent since the time of the Prophet. If they killed him for being an atheist, I have decided to join his organisation and do what he did."

Farook was killed on the night of March 16, reportedly by a gang of four because of being an atheist. The Times of India had reported that Farook used to post rationalistic views about his religion on his Facebook page and was also the administrator of a group where he used to express his views.

The 30 year old used to run a business in Ukkadam near Coimbatore and was also a part of the group Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam.

Hameed told The Indian Express, that Farook despite being non-religious, did not force his views on others and had often refused to take part in family functions because he would have to pray there.

Reports suggest that Farook's close friend and another former business partner were involved in his murder. What came as a shock for Farook's family was that they were present with them at the hospital. his friend Abdul Munaf and former business partner S Jaffar Ali had both come to the spot of the murder as well.

The Times of India had reported that the police are of the opinion that Munaf had been informing Muslim fundamentalists of Farook's posts.

Farook had even parted ways with Jaffer because of their differences of opinion on his religious views.

Farook's brother-in-law I Shahjahan told the newspaper, "When I met Munaf at the police station, he said he was called for questioning in connection with Farook's murder. Later, police arrested Munaf and Jaffar. Our entire family members were shocked."

Farook is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.