File photo of a cow protection vigilante squad. Chandan Khanna—AFP
Viral video shows driver being thrashed by a group of men over suspicions he was transporting beef
An Indian Muslim was brutally beaten in public near New Delhi last week over suspicions that he was transporting beef, in the country’s latest incidence of violence motivated by suspected cow slaughter.
According to report by the Press Trust of India, 27-year-old driver Lukmaan has told police that he was transporting buffalo meat from Nuh to the Sadar Bazaar areas of Gurgaon. “When he reached Gurgaon, he was chased by some men on motorcycles. He sped away but got waylaid and thrashed by them,” Gurgaon Police PRO Subhash Boken told the news agency.
He said that the victim had been dragged to a different location and beaten up again. Lukmaan’s vehicle was also damaged, he added.
The PRO said that Lukmaan had been hospitalized with injuries and that a First Information Report had been registered against several individuals under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting and voluntarily causing harm. “One of the accused has been arrested. He has been identified as Pradeep Yadav, around 25 years old. He is a native of Bhiwani district but currently lives in Rajiv Nagar of Gurgaon,” said Boken. “The other accused have also been identified and efforts are on to arrest them soon,” he added.
The incident, which took place on July 31 (Friday), went viral on social media after people uploaded videos of the attackers thrashing the pick-up driver. One of the videos showed a suspected policeman standing next to the victim, while several people can be seen silently witnessing the violence unfold.
Despite the testimony from Lukmaan and eyewitnesses, Boken said the motive behind the attack remained unclear. He said samples of the suspected meat had been sent to verify whether it was buffalo or beef.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 44 people were killed in cow-related violence between 2015 and 2018. Several reports have claimed the violence disproportionately targets minority Muslims and low-caste Dalits.