Photographs released from the hospital reveal the horrifying extent of the violence inflicted on Sheru, the 32-year-old victim
NEW DELHI — A joint fact-finding team comprising members of Khudai Khidmatgar, NAPM, and social activists recently visited Multanpura village in Mandsaur District of Madhya Pradesh to meet the grieving family of Sheru, a victim of mob lynching on suspicion of cow smuggling.
The social activists included Kripal Singh Mandloi, Shailendra Thakur, Vijay Bairagi, and Yash Lohar.
Sheru, 32, was lynched in the early hours of September 16 while returning from a cattle fair in Bhilwara, Rajasthan. The attack, allegedly over suspicion of cow smuggling, has triggered widespread condemnation and calls for justice.
During the visit to the victim’s family, the fact-finding team expressed deep concern over the growing trend of vigilante violence and called for urgent action. Their key demands included immediate arrest of all accused and strict legal action, fast-track trial under Supreme Court’s 2018 guidelines on mob lynching, enhanced compensation of ₹50 lakh for the victim’s family, a government job for at least one family member, and protection for the victim’s family.
The team also stressed on the implementation of preventive measures to avoid such incidents in future. It also emphasised the need to curb the normalisation of lynching in the name of cow protection and called for stricter enforcement of constitutional rights and Supreme Court directives.
According to eyewitnesses and the victim’s family, Sheru and his cousin had briefly halted for a meal around 3 am when 15 to 16 men attacked them with sticks and rods, accusing them of smuggling cattle.
Despite his attempts to reason with the assailants, Sheru was brutally beaten. The attackers also snatched his mobile phone and robbed him of cash. Sheru was left grievously injured and later shifted to Bhilwara hospital, before being referred to Jaipur due to the severity of his condition. He succumbed to his injuries on September 19.
Photographs released from the hospital reveal the horrifying extent of the violence inflicted on Sheru.
Police Response
The Bhilwara Police have confirmed that a case of murder has been registered, and five individuals have been arrested so far. Several suspects remain at large. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the incident. However, in a controversial move, police have also registered a case of cow smuggling against the deceased, which has sparked further anger among civil rights groups and the victim’s family.
SDPI Questions Action
Ashfaq Hussain, president of the Rajasthan chapter of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), has condemned the brutal murder of the cattle trader. Flaying the police action of not including the charge of mob lynching against the arrested persons, he wondered why only five persons have been taken into custory when several people were involved in the incident. “This clearly indicates that the district administration, under political pressure, is attempting to shield several culprits and their organisations,” he said.
Family Devastated
Sheru was the sole breadwinner for a large family that included his elderly mother, a wife, two young children (a daughter aged 3 and a son barely 10 months old), a 15-year-old brother, and two sisters. Having lost his father during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sheru supported the family through daily wage labour and small-scale farming.
According to the fact-finding report, the family resides in a modest kaccha house and is now left in financial and emotional ruin. According to the family, officials have promised ₹5 lakh in compensation, though the assurance has not been formally confirmed.
The incident has reignited debate around mob violence in India, particularly against marginalised communities. Civil society groups, political activists, and human rights organisations have called for stringent action and structural reforms to prevent such extrajudicial killings.
Sheru’s death marks another grim chapter in the series of lynching cases that have plagued India since the BJP came to power in 2014.
