By Hamza Khan
A 32-year-old man, identified as Sheru Susadiya from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur, was allegedly lynched in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara last week over suspicion of cattle smuggling by self-styled cow vigilantes, his family has said.
Bhilwara police said they arrested five persons and registered an FIR under BNS sections for attempt to murder, voluntarily causing hurt, wrongful restraint, extortion, and unlawful assembly. A separate cow smuggling case was also lodged.
The complainant, Manzoor Pemla (36), said that his cousin Sheru Susadiya, a resident of Multanpura in Mandsaur, and Mohsin Dol, 34, had purchased a bull from Bhilwara’s Lambiya cattle fair on September 16 and were headed home in a pickup truck when, at about 3 am, a silver camper vehicle started trailing them. He said the vehicle eventually overtook them and blocked their way. Soon, some men also arrived on motorcycles.
“They pulled both of them out of the vehicle and started assaulting them, saying they slaughtered cows even after they (Sheru, Mohsin) said they had purchased the domestic cattle from a fair but they didn’t listen,” Manzoor alleged.
The complainant alleged that the accused, identified as Deva Gurjar, Kunal Malpura, Pradeep Rajpurohit, Nitesh Saini and others started assaulting the two men, but Mohsin managed to escape and hide.
“They assaulted Sheru and snatched the Rs 36,000 he had on him. Around 3.30 am, Kunal called me from Sheru’s phone and said that if I wanted to see Sheru alive and avoid police action, then I should bring Rs 50,000 or get someone to bring the money,” Manzoor alleged in the FIR.
This story was originally published in indianexpress.com. Read the full story here.