Two Muslim women were beaten up by members of cow vigilante groups at Mandsaur railway station in Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday after they were suspected to be carrying beef. The incident took place in front of police officers who had come there to arrest the women for smuggling and trying to sell meat illegally, reported Hindustan Times.

The women were thrashed for nearly half-an-hour, reported NDTV. A video capturing the incident went viral. In it, the women are seen being slapped and punched by women in the mob until one of them collapses while the group chants, "Gau Mata Ki Jai." A veterinary doctor later said that prima facie the 30 kg of meat they were carrying was that of a buffalo.

After the incident, the police took the two women into custody as the importing of buffalo meat without permission is illegal in Madhya Pradesh. However, no action has been taken against those who assaulted the women, or the policemen at the spot.

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“Those women are criminals and it was women who beat them up, so it’s a reaction to an action,” Hindustan Times quoted Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Yashpal Sisodia as saying. Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupender Singh later said that action would be taken after the video surfaced.

However, Opposition parties created an uproar in the Rajya Sabha over the issue. “[The] BJP raises ‘Mahilaon ke samman mein, BJP maidan mein’ slogan, yet in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh women thrashed on beef rumours,” said Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati. The Congress too joined her and staged a protest in the Upper House.

The incident comes soon after four Dalit youths were beaten up in BJP-ruled Gujarat for skinning a cow. A video of the incident too went viral, triggering mass protests in the state.