New Delhi: A tailor was bludgeoned to death by a mob allegedly on suspicion of cow slaughter in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district. His friend was also injured in the incident.
While 45-year-old Riyaz succumbed to injuries at a hospital, Shakeel, 38, is stated to be in coma and is undergoing treatment in a Jabalpur hospital, NDTV reported.
The mob allegedly beat the duo with sticks in the early hours of Friday in Amgara village after getting information that two persons were slaughtering a cow. The men were attacked about 28 km from their home in Purani Basti neighbourhood of Maihar town.
The incident has triggered tension in Satna, about 485 km northeast of the state capital Bhopal. Home Minister Rajnath Singh is currently on a two-day visit to Madhya Pradesh and, Satna is one of this stops. In the backdrop of the situation, security has been tightened to avoid any untoward incident during Singh’s visit.
"About 400 policemen have been deployed to maintain law and order in the area following the incident," Inspector General of Police, Rewa Range, Umesh Joga said.
The police have arrested four accused in this regard and filed cases of attempt to murder against them.
A slaughtered bull and meat of two other animals packed in bags have also been found, NDTV quoted senior police officer Rajesh Hingankar as saying. The four accused have been identified as Pawan Singh Gond, Vijay Singh Gond, Phool Singh Gond and Narayan Singh Gond.
One of the accused, Pawan Singh Gond, has lodged a complaint with the police against Riyaz and Shakeel, accusing them of slaughtering cows in the village.
Pawan Singh Gond also said in his complaint that Riyaz and Shakeel were injured when they fell while trying to run away. The accused denied assaulting the two men, Hindustan Times stated quoting a police officer.
Police registered a first information report on the basis of Pawan Singh Gond’s complaint against Riyaz and Shakeel under sections of the Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Ban Act, 2004, and the Madhya Pradesh Agriculture Cattle Preservation Act, 1959.
Sub-Divisional Officer of Police, Maiher area, Arvind Tiwari, said that they recovered "beef" and carcass of a slaughtered bull from the spot.
While the families of Shakeel and Riyaz have denied cow slaughter charges, Hingankar said that Shakeel, who operates a taxi, will be arrested after being discharged from the hospital.
Madhya Pradesh amended its rules against cow slaughter in 2012 and raised the maximum punishment from three years’ imprisonment to seven years.
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