Indian police yesterday said they had arrested six people after a 50-year-old Muslim man was beaten to death over rumors he had eaten beef, a taboo in the Hindu-majority nation.
Mohammad Akhlaq was dragged from his house on the outskirts of the capital and attacked by about 100 people on Monday night, a police officer said.
“When our team reached the spot, a crowd was there outside his house. They [police] managed to rescue him and take him to the hospital, but his life could not be saved,” senior police superintendent Kiran S said.
Photo: AFP
“We have arrested six people and deployed additional personnel to contain any further repercussions,” he added.
Akhlaq’s 22-year-old son was also seriously injured in the attack and was in intensive care at a nearby hospital.
Killing cows is banned in many states of India, a majority-Hindu nation that also has sizeable Muslim, Christian and Buddhist minorities.
In March, Maharashtra State toughened its ban to make even possessing beef illegal, a move seen by religious minorities as a sign of the growing power of hardline Hindus since nationalist Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power.
The rumors that the family had eaten beef began when a calf was reported missing in the village of Dadri, 35km from New Delhi.
“An announcement about the family consuming beef was made at a temple, after which the mob descended on the man’s house,” Kiran said.
The Indian Express quoted Akhlaq’s daughter, Sajida, as saying the family had mutton in the fridge and not beef.
“They accused us of keeping cow meat, broke down our doors and started beating my father and brother. My father was dragged outside and beaten with bricks,” she said.
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