A man identified as Salim was brutally assaulted by a group of cow vigilantes in Ghaziabad’s Shastri Nagar on suspicion of carrying beef, sparking widespread outrage after a video of the incident surfaced on social media.
According to eyewitness accounts and the circulating footage, the attackers identified themselves as cow vigilantes and targeted Salim, accusing him of transporting beef. Police personnel reached the spot promptly, intervened to stop the assault, and took the victim into custody.
The seized meat was sent for forensic examination to determine its nature, while an investigation into the attack has been initiated. As of now, no official update has been released by the Ghaziabad police regarding the forensic report or the current status of those involved.
This incident highlights the persistent issue of cow vigilantism in India, where individuals, often from minority communities, face mob violence based on mere suspicion. Research cited by Reuters indicates that the majority of cow-related attacks recorded since 2010 have occurred after 2014, coinciding with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ascent to power at the national level. Rights organisations have documented dozens of fatalities in such assaults over the past decade, with Muslims and Dalits engaged in the cattle trade being disproportionately affected.
The pattern of violence continues to raise concerns about communal tensions and the role of informal cow protection groups. In August last year, Sabir Malik, a migrant labourer from West Bengal, was lynched in Haryana’s Charkhi Dadri over similar suspicions. Around the same time, an elderly Muslim man was assaulted on a train by a group accusing him of carrying beef—an incident also captured on video and widely shared online.
Researchers studying political violence note that cow vigilantism has emerged as a significant factor in attacks by Hindu extremist groups on Muslim civilians, often operating with limited legal repercussions.
Authorities are expected to provide further details as the investigation progresses. This remains a developing story.
This story was originally published in muslimmirror.com.