On June 7, just a few days after the NDA government was elected, two truck drivers from Uttar Pradesh were allegedly lynched by “cow vigilantes”. They were transporting buffaloes in the early hours of the morning. This took place near the temple town of Arang in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. A third victim has survived but is injured and hospitalised.
The lone survivor has recounted that a mob of 14-15 people attacked them. Two people travelling with him, with one of them being his brother. Their bodies were then thrown from a bridge onto a riverbed. To save his own life, the survivor says he jumped off the bridge himself.
Those who died are reportedly young Muslim men named Chand Miyan, 23, and Guddu Khan, 35. The injured person is named Saddam Qureshi. All of these men were workers from Uttar Pradesh. A harrowing 57-second video of the survivor is circulating widely on social media which shows the survivor, barely conscious in his hospital bed.
Reports indicate that these vigilantes attacked the truck because they suspected the truck drivers of smuggling cows. They chased the Chhattisgarh-registered truck from Patewa along the Mahasamund-Arang Road, approximately 70 kilometres from Raipur, and stopped it on a bridge over the Mahanadi River, where they started assaulting the men.
Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh has told the media that an FIR has been registered regarding the incident. As per reports on NDTV, a senior official has stated that so far, there is no evidence to point towards the idea it was a case of mob lynching, and autopsy reports are still awaited.
The body of one of the victims reportedly showed multiple fractures, with one foot severely damaged.
NDTV has also reported that the truck found near the bridge has been ‘seized’, and the police have put the animals in an animal shelter.
The assault took place between 2am and 3am. The police came to the site after an hour. Raipur ASP Kirtan Rathore informed reporters that upon arrival, one person was already deceased. The two surviving victims were transported to a community health centre, where the second person later succumbed to his injuries.
According to Bhaskar News, Shoaib, the brother of Saddam Qureshi, who was injured in the mob lynching incident in Chhattisgarh, stated “Saddam was groaning in pain and saying, ‘Brother, my leg is broken.’ He even asked for water, but the attackers continued to beat him.”
Times of India has reported that the wife of one of the deceased, Guddu, who is pregnant has been in shock ever since she heard the news.
In other news, trucks carrying goats for the sacrifice on Eid-ul-Zuha were reportedly attacked by the cow vigilantes in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
Trucks carrying animals for #Eid-Ul-Adha were stopped by #Hindutva organisations amid #JaiShriRam slogans creating tense situation in #Paldi area of #Ahmedabad, #Gujarat. pic.twitter.com/tVfb3LRuOY
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) June 11, 2024
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