Five arrested in Haryana for lynching man on suspicion of eating beef

The incident happened in Charkhi Dadri district on August 27 and the victim was a migrant worker from West Bengal.

Five cow vigilantes have been arrested for allegedly lynching a man over suspicion that he had consumed beef, Haryana Police said on Saturday.

File Photo: Women hold placards and candles during a protest against the recent mob lynchings in India. (REUTERS/Amit Dave)

The incident happened in Charkhi Dadri district on August 27, a senior police officer said, adding that the victim, identified as Sabir Malik, was a worker from West Bengal.

“Suspecting that the victim had eaten beef, the accused – Abhishek, Mohit, Ravinder, Kamaljit, and Sahil – called him at a shop on the pretext of selling empty plastic bottles. There, they beat him,” PTI quoted the officer as saying.

“After some people intervened, the group took Malik to another location and beat him again, leading to his death,” the officer stated further.

The deceased lived in a shanty near Bandhara village and collected waste and rag for a living.

In addition to the five accused, two minors have also been apprehended in the matter. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

In February last year, two Muslim men from Rajasthan were allegedly abducted, assaulted, killed and their burned by a ‘cow protection gang’ in Haryana's Bhiwani. The duo's charred bodies were then found in a car.

Monu Manesar aka Monu Yadav, a functionary of the right-wing group Bajrang Dal, was booked by the Rajasthan Police in connection with the murder of Junaid (35) and Nasir (25).

Absconding since the incident, Manesar was arrested in September by the Haryana Police, ending a hunt that spanned several months.