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A 38-year-old Muslim man was beaten to death, and a 65-year-old man critically injured in Hapur, Uttar Pradesh, over suspicions that they were slaughtering cows, the Hindustan Times reported.
The incident took place in Bajhera Khurd village in Hapur on Monday, 18 June, just 54 kilometres from the Delhi-UP border.
Eyewitnesses told Hindustan Times that villagers from Madhpura’s Mustafabad spotted the two men, Qasim and Shamiuddin, and surrounded them.
They beat them and dragged them for more than one kilometre to a temple nearby. There was also a rumour that the men were slaughtering cows. My brother had only gone to Madhpura to buy fodder for his cattle. Maybe he was attacked because he was seen with Qasim, who is a cattle trader.Mohammad Yaseen, Shamiuddin’s brother
Qasim succumbed to his injuries, and Shamiuddin was critically injured in the mob attack.
Attackers Record Victim’s Last Moments, Circulate Video on Social Media
Hapur is just 34 kilometres from Ghaziabad, where UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was meeting BJP MLAs and MPs at the time of the incident.
One of the men was lying near the temple complex. The mob dragged the other man further and dumped him near the temple’s main gate.Ekadashi Giri, priest at the temple
A video of Qasim was circulated on social media. In the video, one of the villagers can be heard saying, “If we’d reached here some time later, they would have killed the cows.”
“The villagers were carrying sticks and accusing the two men of tying up cows to slaughter them,” Shahid, from Madhpura, said to Hindustan Times.
Despite Video, Police Say No Proof That Men Were Attacked Over Cow Slaughter Rumours
While the men in the video can be heard talking about how the victims would have “killed the cows if they hadn’t arrived,” police claimed that the incident had nothing to do with cow slaughter, but was the result of a misunderstanding and a possible bike accident.
My brother bought cattle and sold them in Asoda and Gulaothi’s markets. We got a call about the incident around 2:30 pm.Qasim’s brother
Hapur Superintendent of Police Sankalp told PTI that there were rumours that the men were attacked after villagers accused them of cow slaughter, but that his investigations found no evidence to support the theory.
Pilkhuwa Deputy Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar, in whose jurisdiction the attack took place, said the quarrel started after a collision involving a motorcycle.
Police said that they found the men near the temple and rushed them to a hospital, but that Qasim succumbed to his injuries shortly after.
DIG (Law and Order) Praveen Kumar said that two men were arrested and some others picked up for questioning.
(With inputs from Hindustan Times and ABP)
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