Two Muslim men are believed to have been beaten to death and one critically injured over suspected cattle smuggling in Raipur District in India’s Chhattisgarh State in the early hours of 7 June.
The incident took place at approximately 2am when cousins Chand Miyan, 23, and Guddu Khan, 35, and a third man named Saddam Qureshi, 23, were transporting cattle from Mahasamund in Chhattisgarh to a cattle market in neighbouring Odisha State.
Police investigating the case found that sharp nails had been placed on a bridge above the Mahanadi River which burst the tires of the men’s truck and forced them to stop. They were then reportedly attacked by a mob, some of whom are believed to have been following behind the victims. The number of attackers is unknown as there were no witnesses and the assailants had left the scene by the time the police arrived.
A relative said that he received a call from one of the victims who told him that they were being attacked. The relative immediately alerted the police, who arrived on the scene to find the three men in the river and that Mr Miyan was already dead. The two other men were taken to the Mahasamund District Hospital, where Mr Khan succumbed to his injuries and Mr Qureshi remains in critical condition.
Police are awaiting postmortem reports to ascertain whether the deaths were caused due to the beatings or due to the victims jumping into the river to escape. A First Information Report (FIR), which is required to open an investigation, was registered on 7 June at the Arang police station against unknown people on charges of attempted murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
CSW’s Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: ‘CSW extends our deepest condolences to the families of Chand Miyan and Guddu Khan, and we wish Saddam Qureshi a swift and full recovery. These vigilante groups that terrorise members of the Muslim community are emboldened by a culture of impunity, and the situation is exacerbated as Hindu nationalist organisations continue to call for the boycott of Muslim businesses and key political figures demonise Muslims. We urge the authorities take prompt and effective legal action against the perpetrators of this heinous crime.’
Note to Editors:
- The slaughter of cows and possession or consumption of cow meat is illegal in several states across India. In Chhattisgarh, violation of this can lead to up to seven years’ imprisonment. There have been several instances in recent years in which Hindu nationalists have taken this law into their own hands and attacked or killed Muslims who were found to have violated or suspected to have violated this law.