The shocking incident of two women being thrashed in MP by cow vigilantes has brought the focus back on this growing menace. We look at some of the instances where protecting cows led to violence
In another reminder of Dadri lynching case, 'gau rakshaks' thrashed two women at a railway station in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday for allegedly carrying beef. The two Muslim women were slapped, kicked and abused by the mob led by cow vigilantes even as the police stood by silently.
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The activists attacked the two women after the police detained them on a tip-off that they were carrying beef. Even after the police caught them, the women were assaulted by the crowd that had gathered at the railway station. The incident was caught on camera where the women are cornered by a crowd that is heard screaming "Gau Mata Ki Jai".
This is the first time that women were targeted by cow vigilantes.
And this is not the first or even third instance of violence being perpetrated by the anti-cow slaughter brigade.
Let us take a look at similar instances in the past:
Man lynched for storing 'beef' in Dadri
Mohammad Akhlaq
Mohammad Akhlaq, a resident of Dadri in Uttar Pradesh was lynched in broad daylight over suspicion of storing beef at his house. The 50-year-old man was beaten to death and his 22-year-old son Danish seriously injured by a mob which barged into their house following rumours that the family had consumed beef. Around 200 persons attacked their residence in the night in September 2015 after rumours spread in the village that a cow has been slaughtered and the beef was stored in his house. (READ MORE)
Controversy over Kerala House serving beef
Rumours of beef being served at Kerala House in New Delhi led to a complaint being lodged by Hindu Sena activist Vishnu Gupta with the Delhi Police. Around 20 Delhi Police officers then conducted a raid on the Kerala House canteen in Delhi. Kerala House, however, maintained that it was only serving buffalo meat. The raid led to a war of words between Kerala CM Oommen Chandy, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and the Centre. (READ MORE)
Two women assaulted at MP railway station
Video grab of the women being thrashed
Two Muslim women were beaten up, allegedly by cow vigilantes, at Madhya Pradesh's Mandsaur railway station. The two women, who were carrying buffalo meat, were assaulted by people at the station on suspicion that the meat was beef in the presence of police which had arrested the duo. Asked about the attack on the two women, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh denied that the two women were assaulted by other women passengers in police custody and said the policemen who were on the site had saved them during a scuffle.
(READ MORE AND WATCH THE VIDEO)
Twenty one held for violence, cow slaughter rumours in Mainpuri
Villagers vandalise properties and resort to arson in Mainpuri district on Friday over rumours of cow slaughter in the area. Pic/PTI
Twenty one people were arrested in October 2015 in Uttar Pradesh's Mainpuri area for spreading rumours about cow slaughter and indulging in violence. Cases were also registered against 250 people for their role in the violence in which people pelted stones at the police, torched several vehicles and lay siege to an important road for several hours. Two people were beaten up badly on Friday after people alleged they had slaughtered a cow. As police tried to stop the unruly mob and whisked the two away, people went on the rampage, setting vehicles on fire and attacking police. (READ MORE)
Mob lynches man for allegedly smuggling cows in Himachal Pradesh
An alleged cow smuggler was lynched by a mob while his four accomplices apprehended by police with the help of local people after nearly four hours of chase in the forests in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh in October 2015. DSP Pachhad, Yogesh Rolta, said that five cow smugglers, who were attacked an injured by local people, were arrested and admitted to hospital. The police, with the help of local villagers, arrested all the five cow smugglers, after several hours of chase in the forest. The villagers, who far outnumbered the policemen, beat up the alleged cow smugglers after they were overpowered, police sources said. (READ MORE)
Haryana Police kill 'cow smuggler' in encounter
'Cow smuggler' shot dead in police encounter
Haryana Police shot dead an alleged cattle smuggler and seriously injured another in an encounter in Kurukshetra district early on Sunday, a senior police official said. The encounter took place in Thanesar area of the district, about 110 km from here, when the cattle smugglers were transporting cows in a pick-up jeep, police officials said. (READ MORE)
Truck carrying carcasses of cows set afire in Mathura
A truck was set ablaze and the National Highway 2 was blocked today by residents of Chaumuhan area here after the vehicle was found carrying carcasses of 30 cows, police said. The trouble started when the residents noticed blood spilling out of the truck, which was parked at the outskirts of Chaumuha. When they removed the plastic cover from the vehicle, they found it full of dead cows. (READ MORE)
Dalits stripped, beaten up for skinning dead cow at Una
A group of Dalits were allegedly beaten up by six persons for skinning a dead cow at a village in Gir Somnath district, following which three persons were arrested in July. The victims, belonging to a Dalit community at Mota Samadiyara village of Una taluka in Gir Somnath, claimed that they were skinning an already dead cow, while the six accused claimed that the animal was killed before being skinned, police said. A purported video showing the persons being beaten with iron rods and sticks went viral on social media platforms like Whatsapp. In the video, some people are seen chained to a car, while the accused are seen thrashing them mercilessly. The incident caused nation-wide outrage. (READ ARTICLE AND WATCH VIDEO)
'Cow traffickers force-fed cow dung
A video showing two alleged cow traffickers forced to eat cow dung by volunteers of the 'Gau Rakshak Dal' went viral on social media in June. According to police, the so-called 'Gau Rakshak Dal', a vigilante group of cow savers, intercepted a truck full of meat suspected to be beef and caught the two alleged cow traffickers, near Faridabad - Delhi border area on June 10. They beat the alleged beef smugglers and made them eat cow dung and chant 'Go mata jindabad'. (READ MORE)
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