A video showing a man being brutally attacked by cow vigilantes in Gurugram while the police watch has gone viral on social media, NDTV reported on Saturday. The incident took place around 9 am on Friday.
The group of cow vigilantes chased a pick up truck for several km on a vehicle before managing to flag it down. They pulled out the driver, identified as Lukman, and brutally attacked him on the suspicion that he was transporting cow meat. After the assault, during which the police and some passersby merely watched, the man was put back in the vehicle and taken to Badshahpur village, where he was beaten up again.
When the police finally attempted to act, the assailants became aggressive with them too. One person has been arrested in the incident, and the victim has been taken to hospital, The Indian Express reported. But the police also sent a sample of the meat to a laboratory for testing.
“Pradeep Yadav, 26, a resident of Rajiv Nagar, has been arrested,” Gurugram Police Public Relations Officer Subhash Boken said. “So far, he does not appear to be linked to any fringe elements or political party. Investigation is on to nab the other accused.” Boken added that the victim was taken to the Government Hospital in Gurugram, following which he was transferred to the Safdarjung Hospital in New Delhi.
Lukman alleged in his complaint that the incident took place when he was headed to a shop near Jama Masjid in Gurugram. “Near the traffic signal in Sector 5-6, men travelling on four-five motorcycles tried to stop me but I sped to the truck market near the masjid,” he said. “There, the men surrounded me, broke the glass of my vehicle and beat me with sticks.”
In another video, the police can be seen trying to push back the crowd standing near the truck, The Indian Express said. A man lifts a rock and hurls it at the windshield. The police manage to remove Lukman from the truck and put him in a police car. The crowd tries to reach the vehicle, and the men try to stop it when it begins to move.
“He called me and said some men were following him,” Tahir Qureshi, the man to whose shop Lukman was meant to deliver meat, told The Indian Express. “He was scared…when he arrived at the shop, the men immediately surrounded him and began hitting him with sticks. We would have intervened, but were concerned it would worsen the situation. I alerted police instead.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!