Daily Times

India’s so-called image of a democratic and tolerant country has been shattered once again as a group of Hindu extremist ‘cow vigilantes’ beat a Muslim man to death in Maharashtra’s Nashik district on suspicion of smuggling beef.

The victim, identified as Afan Ansari, a 32-year-old resident of Mumbai’s Kurla area, was accompanied by his associate Nasir Sheikh, Indian media reported. The report stated that two men were in the process of transporting meat in a car when they were stopped and assaulted by the so-called vigilantes.

Following the attack, the victims were taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention. Unfortunately, despite receiving treatment, one of them succumbed to their injuries. “On reaching the spot, we found the car in a damaged condition. The injured men were inside the car and we admitted them to a nearby hospital where one of them died,” said sub-inspector Sunil Bhamre.

Police have detained ten people so far in the case. On the complaint of the injured person, we have registered a case of murder and rioting and are probing it, police said. Whether they were indeed transporting beef or not will be known only after the lab report comes, they added. Cows are considered sacred in the Hindu religion and, since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, there has been a rise in attacks on Muslim cattle-owners by Hindu nationalists.

Most Indian states have banned cow slaughter and have put in place stringent laws for slaughtering cows.

India has witnessed many killings in the name of cow protection, several of them allegedly organised by right-wing groups close to the ruling BJP party.