Two Dalit men were reportedly tied to a tree, stripped and beaten in Andhra Pradesh's Amalapuram town. The police said the two brothers, Mokati Elisa and Mokati Rajam, were hired by a farmer, who owned the cow, to skin the animal after it got electrocuted. However, the men were attacked because others believed they had stolen and killed the cow. The police told NDTV that it was not a case of cow vigilantism. One of the victims is in critical condition.
The police registered a case under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. East Godavari Superintendent of Police M Ravi Prakash told India Today that on Monday, seven individuals had attacked the two Dalits, as well as the driver of the auto in which they had transported the carcass.
News of the incident emerged a day after the Ministry of Home Affairs directed states and union territories to follow a no-tolerance policy towards attacks by cow vigilantes. This order came days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke up against self-appointed "gau rakshaks". He said these individuals "indulge in anti-social activities" as a "ruse to hide their misdeeds".
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