Bajrang Dal activists beat up man in Shamli for allegedly stealing calf

Shamli district in Uttar Pradesh has been tense after Bajrang Dal activists beat up a Muslim man for allegedly stealing a calf. The activists claimed that the man was planning to slaughter the calf. The Indian Express reports, “While the Muslim man — Riaz (42), a resident of Banat locality in Shamli — has been arrested on charges of theft and under the Animal Cruelty Act, a case has been registered against six Bajrang Dal men, including its district convener, Vivek Premi. Riaz is lodged in Muzaffarnagar District Jail.” [caption id=“attachment_2318846” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] Videos that have been doing the rounds of Whatsapp and other social media show Riaz being chased, beaten and then paraded. It also shows that though the police turn up at the spot, they failed to do anything. “This man was killing cows near the Mandi. He is a cow murderer. Listen to what we have to say! If anyone else is caught in the act of slaughtering cows, this is what we will do to them,” The Times of India quoted one of the men in the video as saying. The video also shows the attackers claiming that Riaz had stolen cows earlier and slaughtered them. One of the attackers was also heard telling Riaz to never return to Shamli. According to The Times of India, when the person making the video asked the victim what his name was, he said, “He has stolen cattle twice before. The police take no action against people like him. That is why we have taken this responsibility upon ourselves.” The first attacker then addresses Riyaz and says, “Listen to me very carefully. I don’t ever want to see you in Shamli district ever again.” What comes as a big surprise in the video is that the police arrested Riaz, who was bleeding because he was beaten up, instead of the attackers. However the police said that an FIR was registered against the attackers as well. The Indian Express reports, “The incident has left the police in a fix. While members of BJP, along with RSS offshoots like Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, have began an agitation alleging that Riaz was carrying the calf for slaughtering, the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind has started a protest demanding the withdrawal of the case against Riaz and arrest of the accused Bajrang Dal activists.”