Five persons have been arrested. The police are seeking a remand of the accused to recover weapons used in the crime and locate additional suspects
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — Cow vigilantes have lynched and assaulted several Muslims across the country — especially in the BJP-ruled states — on suspicion of transporting the animal considered sacred by Hindus. But in the incident which happened on February 22, the victims were Hindus themselves. The self-styled vigilantes this time abducted two Hindu cattle transporters in Haryana’s Palwal District and thrashed them brutally with sticks, swords and hammers leading to the death of one of them.
The victims have been identified as Sandeep and Balkishan, who were transporting the cattle legally. The cow vigilantes beat them up mercilessly and threw them into a canal Balkrishna, the driver of the truck, swam through the canal after great difficulty. Sandeep’s body was later recovered from the canal.
According to the police, the victims received multiple fractures and stab injuries. After a 10-day operation, the body of the deceased was found on Monday (March 3) around 15 km from the spot where it was dumped on the day of the assault.
The victims, police said, were transporting the cattle from Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar to Lucknow but they had lost their way in Haryana.
Balkishan was quoted by Hindi newspaper Punjab Kesri as saying that their vehicle was searched by a police team at a checkpost. The two were then handed over to the cow vigilantes.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Crime) Manoj Verma said the victims were transporting two dairy cattle in a pickup truck from Rajasthan to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh on 22 February night. But they lost their way and ran into the cow vigilantes, who chased them on their motorcycles.
The vigilantes kidnapped them on suspicion of cow smuggling and assaulted them and threw them into a canal in Gurugram’s Sohna.
On Sunday, the Palwal police arrested five accused; Pawan from Sancholi in Gurgaon, Naresh from Kaliaka in Nuh, Pankaj from Patali Gate, and Nikhil and Devraj from Jaindipura in Palwal.
The police are seeking a remand of the accused to recover weapons used in the crime and locate additional suspects.
Palwal SP Chander Mohan, who is supervising the case, has ordered swift action against the remaining absconding accused. The case was registered under relevant sections of BNS and the investigation is on, Palwal police spokesperson Sanjay Kadian said.
This is the second incident in Haryana the victims were found to be non-Muslims. Earlier, a Class 12 student, Aryan Mishra, was chased in a car and shot dead in Haryana’s Faridabad in August last year by a group of cow vigilantes. The vigilantes later acknowledged that they mistook Mishra for a cattle smuggler.
Muslim traders are often targeted by cow protectors. Several Muslims have been killed, attacked and assaulted in the name of cows. In February 2023, Junaid and Nasir from Rajasthan were burnt alive in a car by cow vigilantes. Monu Manesar, notorious for his criminal activities, has been named the main accused in this heinous crime.
