UP: One Man Lynched To Death Over Suspicions Of Cow Slaughter

Villagers reportedly lynched a middle-aged man at UP’s Hapur district over alleged rumours of cow slaughtering. The incident occurred on Monday afternoon at Pilkhua Kotwali area’s Bajheda Khurd village.

The victim, identified as one Kashim (45) was pronounced dead while his accomplice is still hospitalised. According to media reports, the two men were beaten up by irate villagers when rumours of them trying to steal three cows and a calf for slaughtering spread in the area.

Alleged Cow Slaughtering

ABP reported that as per the locals, a farmer named Samaydeen had left his farm to bring fodder for his cattle; meanwhile, Kashim entered the farm and was seen carrying cattle from the farm. Meanwhile, other media reports suggest that some women who were cutting fodder spotted four people moving cattle. The women then informed the others in the village.

Upon hearing this, hundreds of villagers had gathered. While two escaped, Kashim and his accomplice were reportedly thrashed brutally by the mob.

Even though there seems to be some confusion over what caused the feud in the first place, local police have dubbed it as a mere case of a fight over a motorcycle accident.

The local police officers rushed to the spot upon being informed by the victim’s brother who had also filed a case against 25 unknown persons.

While talking to The Logical Indian, ASP Ram Mohan Singh said, “It was a case of villagers fighting amongst one another and that there was no case of cow slaughtering involved.” He further mentioned that the local police have been interrogating five people associated with the incident to try and determine what might have started this violent feud.

Following the incident, tensions sparked amongst the villagers and police personnel were deployed in the area. However, Singh informed that since then, situations have been under control in the village.

The incident comes days after two Muslim men were lynched by an enraged mob on suspicion of stealing cattle in Jharkhand’s Godda district.

The Logical Indian Take

This is one of many incidents of lynching where people have taken laws into their hand in pursuit of ‘justice.’ We need stringent punishments against those who resort to such acts of violence. To uphold the safety of citizens, the trust gap between the people and the police needs to be narrowed. In the meanwhile, people from all strata of life need to be educated and made aware of the evils of mob lynching.