JOIN USTwo persons have been arrested in connection with the lynching of a 45-year-old Muslim man by a mob of cow vigilantes in Uttar Pradesh's Hapur district over rumours of "cow slaughter".
While the cops claimed that the man, Mohammed Qasim, was killed in a "road rage" incident, a video, that has gone viral on social media, showed a group of people thrashing Qasim and another person over suspected cow slaughter.
In a further indictment of the police, a photograph also emerged on the social media showing the bloodied body of Qasim being dragged by some people, including a cop. More police personnel are seen walking beside Qasim.
According to sources, the mob caught hold of Qasim and Samaydeen, both residents of the same district, after some women, who were working in the fields near Bajhaura Khurd village in the district, raised an alarm on seeing the duo with a cow and a calf on Monday evening.
A mob soon assembled there and the two were brutally thrashed by the vigilantes. They were taken to a hospital after some elders from the village intervened but Qasim succumbed to injuries in the night.
In the video that emerged later, the vigilantes can be heard discussing the plan to thrash the duo. One of them asks the other to stop beating them, fearing that they could die.
The lynching triggered tension in the area, police sources said, adding that security personnel in strength had been deployed at Bajhaura Khurd and nearby villages and senior officials were camping there to monitor the situation.
The police said that Qasim was killed in a clash between two groups after their motorbikes collided.
Qasim's brother Salim said that he dealt with the sale and purchase of cattle. Qasim is survived by his wife and five children.