Couple, 2 others thrashed over beef rumour in India

International Desk: A couple and two men were thrashed by a group for allegedly carrying beef in an autorickshaw at a village in Madhya Pradesh.

In a video of the incident shot by an eyewitness on a mobile phone, the woman was seen being hit repeatedly with a slipper on her head, covered with a piece of cloth, as she curled up on the gravel and took the blows in silence from the attacker who was heard yelling at her, "Jai Shri Ram". The three men were also tied to a tree one by one and thrashed by the group.

The police said five men have been arrested from Seoni city, 350 km from state capital Bhopal.

"The video is four days old and four people have been arrested. They have been sent to jail by a local court. One more accused has been arrested. He will appear in court today," local police officer Lalit Shakyavar said.

One of the accused, Shubham Singh, who calls himself a member of "Ram Sena", posted the video on his Facebook account on May 23; he deleted it later. In a photo he uploaded in April, he is seen standing next to BJP parliamentarian and Malegaon blasts accused Pragya Thakur and a group of men.

On May 22, the three men and the woman were travelling in an autorickshaw when they were intercepted by the group of vigilantes, who accused them of carrying beef, the police said.

Instead of informing the police, the men took matters on their own hands and held the passengers hostage and interrogated them, witnesses said.

In the video, the group is heard chanting "Jai Shri Ram" as they landed blows after blows on the men who were tied to a tree. One of them is untied and pushed to the ground as more sticks landed on his body, the video shows.

People who gathered about where the beatings happened said no one called the police when the incident was unfolding.

Senior police officer Gopal Khandel said samples of the meat have been sent for forensic analysis to a laboratory in Hyderabad. "We have no information if the accused are linked to any political group," he added.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti condemned the incident. "Horrified to see cow vigilantes thrash an innocent Muslim with such impunity in MP. Hope Kamal Nath takes swift action against these goons," she tweeted.

Source: NDTV


risingbd/ May 25, 2019/Mukul