JALALKHEDA, July 13 (TNS): Four persons have been arrested for assaulting a Muslim man carrying meat at Jalalkheda, about 35 kilometers from Nagpur, the Indian media reported on Thursday.
“Salim Ismail Shah, 32, was carrying 15 kgs of meat on his motorcycle from Amner village to Katol, when he was accosted by four persons who beat him up, alleging he was carrying beef. Shah sustained injuries for which he was admitted to a hospital, from where he has been discharged,” Jalalkheda Police Inspector Vijaykumar Tiwari said.
The four arrested have been identified as Moreshwar Tandulkar, Ashwin Uike, Janardan Chaudhary and Rameshwar Taywade. Tandulkar is said to be the tehsil unit chief of Prahar Sanghatan, an organisation headed by Bacchu Kadu, an independent MLA from Achalpur (Amravati). Tiwari confirmed that Tandulkar is the Tehsil Chief.
On inquiry whether any of the other three had any links to Bajrang Dal or Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Tiwari replied in negative. Tiwari said, “We have sent the meat sample to a forensic laboratory to find out if it was beef or something else. We haven’t registered any offence against Shah as of now.”
On being asked where Shah was headed with the meat, Tiwari informed, “Apparently there was some community program at Katol and Shah was carrying it for the program.”
A video clip of the assault, showing the man being dragged and kicked around, went viral on social media. The incident follows a long list of such cases of mobs taking law into their own hands, often resulting in casualties.
Last month, protests broke out in various parts of the country against targeted lynchings of minorities and Dalits after Junaid Khan, a 15-year-old, was stabbed to death on a Mathura-bound train by a mob in Ballabhgarh in Haryana. Khan’s death ensued after an argument over train seats escalated. Khan and his friends were called ‘beef-eaters’ by the mob and they were mocked over their skull caps.
