A mob of around 150 people thrashed three alleged cow transporters and stripped one of them naked in BJP-ruled Rajasthan’s Pratapgarh district on Tuesday, the latest in a spate of violence over bovine trade and beef consumption.
Sources said state police and alleged members of Bajrang Dal and cow protection vigilante group Gau Raksha Samiti intercepted two trucks with 96 bullocks at a national highway. The animals were allegedly meant for slaughterhouses in Gujarat and Maharashtra and were brought from Jaipur and Ajmer. Sources said police seized one truck but the other was taken over by Bajrang Dal and Gau Raksha Samiti members. They then allegedly beat up three reported cow transporters and stripped one, sources added.
“Two of the transporters were nabbed by police and saved from vigilantes, one escaped and one was beaten up by the mob,” said Kalu Ram Rawat, SP, Pratapgarh. Police said they arrested all seven alleged cow transporters but only one suspected assaulter. An FIR was registered against the mob.
The incident emerged after photos of the alleged assault surfaced on social media. One purported photo showed a man in a police uniform as part of the group, triggering charges that police was complicit in the attack. But authorities denied the allegations. “The pictures that show a cop standing with the naked boy is actually trying to save him from Raksha Samiti people,” said Rawat.
{{/usCountry}}The incident emerged after photos of the alleged assault surfaced on social media. One purported photo showed a man in a police uniform as part of the group, triggering charges that police was complicit in the attack. But authorities denied the allegations. “The pictures that show a cop standing with the naked boy is actually trying to save him from Raksha Samiti people,” said Rawat.
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