In another incident of mob violence in the name of cattle vigilantism, a man was beaten to death and another was critically injured in Madhya Pradesh for allegedly killing a bull. The incident happened on Thursday in Amgar village, Satna district where the victims Siraj Khan and Shakeel Maqbool were attacked by a mob.
Khan later died before being taken to the hospital while Maqbool is admitted at a hospital in Jabalpur where his condition is said to be critical, reports The Indian Express. Both hail from Maihar village which is 15 km away from where the incident took place.
The incident, where a man was allegedly beaten to death & another got critically injured by villagers in Satna’s Amgar village for allegedly killing cattle, happened on May 17 (Thursday). #MadhyaPradesh https://t.co/5prArZWQ3C
— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2018
The victims were allegedly attacked with sticks on the suspicion of killing a bull and were left to die.
Police have arrested four accused identified as Pawan Singh, Narayan Singh, Phool Singh and Vijay Singh, on the charges of murder and assault. Tension has gripped the entire district and police have deployed additional forces to avoid any untoward incident.
The deceased is survived by his wife and three children. Shakeel, who is in a critical condition, runs a taxi.
Police have also registered a case of cow slaughter against Shakeel under Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Ban Act, 2004, and the Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Cattle Preservation Act, 1959. Cattle slaughter carries a seven-year prison term and a fine of Rs. 5,000 after the state amended its laws in 2012, reports NDTV.
Shakeel’s family denied all the charges levelled against him. However, police officials said that he will be arrested once he is discharged from the hospital, reports Hindustan Times.
A representational image | Source: Indian Express
In July last year, two women were attacked in Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh on the suspicion of carrying beef. However, it was later found that the meat was of a buffalo, reports The New Indian Express.
In May, a video of a man in Ujjain getting brutally assaulted on the charges of injuring a cow went viral on social media, reports ANI.
According to the data by IndiaSpend, 78 cases of cow-related violence took place between 2002 and 2017 in the country. There have been 273 victims including 28 deaths of which 97 percent were Muslims.
