Cow vigilantes thrashed two men. One is dead, the other is in comma. The incident took plane at Satna in Madhya Pradesh. However, the two men face charges for allegedly slaughtering cow based on a complaint of a cow vigilante, a NDTV report said.
The 45-year-old Riyaz and 33-year-old Shakeel were attacked on Thursday night by a mob when they were returning from Kaimor on suspicion that they had killed a cow, said police. Satna is also one of the villages where Home Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to stop during his two-day visit to the state.
Police said, “Some villagers saw Riyaz and Shakeel with cattle near a quarry and informed their friends who came on the spot and started beating them.”
Police reached the spot at 3 am following a tip-off and Riyaz and Shakeel were taken to a hospital in Maihar. There were some others on the spot but they fled. Riyaz succumbed to his injuries and Shakeel is in coma.
Police informed that four men–Pawan Singh Gond, Vijay Singh Gond, Phool Singh Gond and Narayan Singh Gond from Amgara–were arrested and murder cases will be filed against them.
“A case of cow slaughter has been filed against Riyaz and Shakeel on the basis of complaint filed by Pawan Singh Gond,” said Rajesh Hingankar, a senior police officer of the area. A slaughtered bull and meat of two other animals, packed in bags were recovered from the spot, Hingankar added.
Families of the two men have denied cow slaughter charges. According to the charges, Shakeel may have to face a seven-year-jail term and submit a fine of Rs 5,000.
Cow vigilantism has seen a growing trend in India after 2014 when the Narendra Modi government came to power. According to IndiaSpend, 97 pr cent of all cow-vigilante attacks reported since 2010 took place after the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power, The Economist reported.
Last year in September, the Supreme Court pulled up the Center on its stand on cow vigilantism and wanted it to take responsibility for the situation. It also asked states to crack down on cow vigilantism. The apex court had suggested a series of tough measures to curb the increasing violence.