In a shocking incident, a cow vigilante group in Somnath district stripped and beat up four persons, asking them from where they had got cow skin and whether they were killing cows. After the video showing them stripping and beating the four went viral on social media, local police arrested some of the three culprits.
In the video, a group of four persons are shown stripping as many people, tying them to a van and beating them with sticks, asking them how they could procure cow skin. After beating them brutally, one person from the group put the clip on social media, warning others to not kill cows or else would meet the same fate.
“We have arrested three persons and lodged an FIR. We will deal with them as they have no right to beat up people,” said a police official from Somnath, adding, “A few persons are still at large but we will nab them soon.”
According to sources, a group of local cow protection committee had intercepted a van in which some people were transporting remains of the animals which they thought was beef.
“We had information about some people killing cow for beef. We had also informed the police about the same,” said local Shiv Sena activist Ramesh Goswami.
He added that “cow slaughtering will not be allowed in the area.”
Rise in similar incidents
In Gujarat, incidents involving vigilante group members thrashing people suspected of slaughtering cows have been increasing.
Recently, a mob had attacked a minority dominated area in a village near Surat district suspecting that cows were being slaughtered there.
