ROHTAK: A 24-year-old youth reportedly beaten up by a mob of self-proclaimed Gau Rakshaks (cow vigilantes) on suspicion of ‘cow smuggling’ in Haryana’s Rohtak district of Uttar Pradesh.
According to media reports, Naushad Muhammad on Saturday night January 19 was on way to sell buffaloes and not cows when self-proclaimed vigilantes allegedly dragged him on the road and tied him to a pole.
The humiliation did not end there. They allegedly thrashed him with sticks and also tortured him with a burning beedi before robbing him of Rs 2,000.
“I was on the way to sell a buffalo and two calves on Saturday night when cow vigilante Jashpal Kharab stopped me by chasing me on his scooter along with other men. When I stepped out, he called me a cow smuggler and they started beating me up. Some people in the mob, taking advantage of the chaos, snatched Rs 2,000 from me and then dragged me on the road,” he said, as per Times Of India reports.
He added, “Yei UP kay musalmaan ko hum theek karengay. Gau hatyaray hain yeh (We will teach a lesoon to this Muslim from Uttar Pradesh. He is a cow killer). That is what they said,” he told TOI.
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The ordeal was continued even after police rescued him.
He alleged that police rushed to the spot only after two hours and instead of giving medical assistance first, they took him to the police station over accusations of cow smuggling where he was later tied to a bed in chains.
“Instead of taking me to hospital, the cops chained me to the police station and I kept writhing in pain until Sunday afternoon, when a group of social activists came to my rescue and I was taken to hospital for treatment,” he said.
Naushad narrated to media on Monday that he was trembling in fear when the mob began to threaten him. The Rohtak police refuted Naushad’s claim and said he was taken for the medical examination on Saturday itself.
A case against Naushad and two aides was filed and also against nearly a dozen people reportedly involved in the mob violence under various Sec of the Indian Penal Code and started an investigation.