This happens a day after Imam of a mosque was assaulted in Mangalore district of Karnataka
Zafar Aafaq | Clarion India
NEW DELHI — Five people were arrested in Dakshina Kannada district of the Southern state of Karnataka following a case of hate crime where two Muslim men were thrashed by a gang of cow vigilantes.
The incident took place in Melanthabettu in Belthangady on Wednesday night when the gang waylaid Abdul Rahiman and Muhammad Mustafa who were on way home in a pick-up.
The vigilantes attacked the duo and left them grievously injured on the suspicion of cattle smuggling .
According to Hyder, local activists associated with SDPI, Rahiman and Mustafa were looking for a repair shop as there was some issue with their vehicle when at around 11.30 PM two men on a Pulsar cycle stopped them. “Without any query they attacked them,” Hyder who spoke with the victims told Clarion India over the phone from Karnataka.
In the meanwhile more men with rods arrived on the scene and thrashed the duo. “They accused them of carrying cows to slaughter them,” said Hyder. “That accusation is totally false. They were searching a car repair shop.”
The attack left Rahiman and Mustafa grievously injured. Photos shared on social media show their bodies covered with bruises and bandages.
A case has been registered at Belthangady Police station. “We have registered an FIR under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraint), 355 (assault), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 504 (insult), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code,” the station incharge told Clarion India over the phone.
The police have reportedly arrested five and are looking for three more believed to be part of the Bajrang Dal, an extremist Hindutva outfit whose men often resort to mob violence against members of minority community.
Rahiman and Mustafa were taken to Beltangady hospital following the attack. On Thursday morning, they were shifted to a private hospital in Mangalore as they needed better treatment.
The attack comes a day after an Imam of a mosque was assaulted by a group of unidentified assailants in the Farangipete area of Mangalore district in Karnataka.
Karnataka assembly passed a law in February that makes transportation of cattle illegal. Slaughtering of cattle is also illegal. However, the critics of the law say that it encourages cow vigilantism and mob violence as the law offers impunity to those who act “in good faith” and inform the police about people indulging in transportation or sale of cattle.