A Muslim cattle trader was severely beaten by a group of twenty men believed to be linked with the Hindutva Bajrang Dal group in Babaleshwar Taluk, Vijayapura district, Karnataka. According to reports, the victim, named Bande Nawaz, was moving two bulls, a buffalo calf, and a cow from Babaleshwar to Vijayapura when the attackers stopped his vehicle, as per a report by Varatha Bharati. The assailants, allegedly connected to Bajrang Dal leaders Viresh Hiremath and Raju Biradara, attacked Nawaz after discovering the animals in his vehicle, causing him serious injuries and heavy bleeding.
According to reports, Nawaz was transporting two bulls, a buffalo calf, and a cow from Babaleshwar to Vijayapura when the attackers, who is reported to be associated with Bajrang Dal leaders Viresh Hiremath and Raju Biradara, came to his truck and a case has been registered against them.
As per a report in Siasat News, Nawaz’s body in the video shows severe wounds and visible blood stains. At the same time, a case has been reported to the Babaleshwar police station regarding the attack, and the authorities are currently investigating the incident.
This is not the first time cattle traders belonging to the Muslim community have faced an attack in the region.
In April 2023, Idrees Pasha a 39 year old cattle trader was fatally attacked by cow vigilantes in Karnataka’s Ramanagara region on April 1, as per report. He was found dead after the truck he was travelling in with two other people was attacked. He had reportedly passed away due to a cardiac arrest, as per initial findings from a post-mortem examination, as stated by police sources. The police following the incident arrest five suspects. Zaheer, one of the persons who was attacked was charged under the Karnataka Prevention of Slaughter and Preservation of Cattle Bill, 2020 He was taken to the police station by Puneeth Kerehalli. Kerehalli is reportedly an activist and was absconding after Pasha’s death was reported. He has so far denied involvement in the incident even though it was reportedly that he was the one who led the attack against Pasha. Pasha’s family has alleged that he had burn marks on his body, which indicate that he may have been brutally tortured before he died.
Similarly, in August, 2023, a group of Muslims who were reportedly cattle traders were attacked by members of the Sri Ram Sena in Karnataka’s Bidar. Several people were injured before the police intervened and stopped the situation from getting worse. The Sri Ram Sena had claimed that the cows were being transported illegally to a slaughterhouse. In the same year, a month later in September, the organisation Sri Ram Sene had made alleged cattle smugglers hold the heads of cows and pose for photographs and utter ‘Jai Sri Ram’, in Doddaballapura near Bengaluru This incident, according to The NewsMinute, took place soon after Sri Ram Sena head Pramod Muthalik gave a speech which many residents and police officials say could be the cause for the incident.
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