Five thrashed on suspicion of carrying beef in Faridabad

NEW DELHI: In another incident of cow vigilantism, five people were thrashed by a group of men in Faridabad on Friday morning on the suspicion of carrying beef in an auto-rickshaw.

The incident took place on Friday morning, when Azad, the driver of the auto-rickshaw, was on his way to deliver the buffalo meat to a shop. He was accompanied by 14-year-old Sonu, an employee of the meat supplier.

On its way to Old Faridabad, the vehicle was stopped near Bajri village by six men travelling in a car.

The men surrounded Azad and his auto, and accused him of transporting beef.

Soon, around 40 people gathered at the spot, and started raining blows on him and kicked him and Sonu.

At some point, Azad managed to call his relatives and inform them about the ordeal. When his brother and a couple of his relatives reached the spot, they were also beaten up by the mob.

Azad bore the brunt of the beating, while the other four sustained injuries.

The mob then handed the five persons over to the police, alleging that they were cow smugglers.

Police sources said that initially they had filed a case against the victims themselves, under Haryana's law against cow smuggling. However, the complaint was later withdrawn after it came to light that Azad was carrying buffalo meat, not cow meat.

"In the initial investigation, it was found that it was buffalo meat and not beef that was being transported. Therefore, a case under relevant sections was registered on the complaint of Azad. Further action will be taken after probing the matter," SHO, Mujesar police station, Vinod Singh, said.

On Saturday, police registered a case under Sections 148, 149, 323, 341 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code at Mujesar police station against 15-20 unknown persons for thrashing the five persons.

The assault comes just a month after the Supreme Court delivered a strong message on cow vigilantism and told states to crack down to curb the increasing instances of cow vigilantism.