‘Beef’ row: Two more suspects held, six arrests in the case so far
Gurugram A week after a 25-year-old driver was beaten up by a group of men on the alleged suspicion of transporting beef in his pick-up truck, the police on Friday arrested two more suspects, taking the total number of arrests in the case to six.
According to the police, at least five more suspects have been identified and raids are being conducted to arrest them.
The two suspects, identified as Sunil and Naveen alias Chela, both residents of village Rithoj near Sohna, were arrested by a team of Sector 10 crime branch from Vatika Chowk, Badshahpur, on Thursday night, the police said. They were produced in a district court and sent to police custody for a day.
A crime branch official, requesting anonymity, said, “Prima facie, the two suspects do not have a criminal history. We are questioning them to ascertain more facts. They said that they had received input from one Ashok about the victim transporting meat in his pick-up truck, following which they tried to stop him. When he did not halt his vehicle, they cornered him near Sadar Bazar and used a hammer to open his truck, following which they assaulted him.”
The police said Naveen was among the suspects near Sadar Bazar, who was seen hitting the victim, Lukman, with a hammer in a purported video that had surfaced online. Sunil was among the people present at the two locations, where the victim was assaulted, said the police.
The incident had taken place on July 31, when Lukman, a native of Ghasera village in Nuh, was transporting meat in his pick-up truck to a shop near Jama Masjid.
On Monday (August 3), the police had arrested the prime suspect, Monu, and Anesh. In a three-minute purported video of the incident, Monu, in a blue T-shirt, could be seen dragging the victim on the road before kicking him and then beating him with a hammer. In the video, at least two more suspects take turns and assault Lukman with a hammer and sticks before he is bundled into the truck.
Two more suspects, Mahesh, 30, from Rithoj, and Pardeep Yadav, 28, a Rajiv Nagar resident, were arrested earlier in this week.
The case was transferred to crime branch after a preliminary inquiry in which departmental action was taken against four police officials. Three officials were suspended on August 2 for ‘failing to take action on the spot’ while the station house officer (SHO) of Badshahpur police station was transferred to police lines for negligence and failing to control the situation.