Purnea: Hindutva workers, led by local strongman Abhijeet Kumar Yadav, on Sunday, June 14, assaulted a hotel owner and his minor son in Bihar’s Purnea, over allegations of serving cow and buffalo meat, with the attackers publicly humiliating them by making them apologise and do sit-ups.
Following an investigation, Purnea Police found no beef or “other objectionable” items inside the hotel premises. A written complaint by the hotel owner claimed the accused assaulted him and his son when asked to pay for their meal.
The incident occurred in the Gokulpur area under the jurisdiction of the K Nagar Police Station. Although the assault took place on Sunday, the video went viral days later.
Attackers falsely accused hotel owner of selling beef
The original video shared on Facebook was uploaded with the caption, “Caught preparing cow and buffalo meat in a hotel, angering people.” A Hindutva worker can be seen approaching the hotel owner, while another, holding a lathi, hits his son.
When the father attempted to protect his son, the assailant picked up a nearby chair and threw it at the duo, breaking it in the process. They continued assaulting even as the boy cried for help, trying to protect his father instead.
The Hindutva workers asked, “Kya tha fridge me sach sach bolo, kya tha? kaha se laya? (What was in the fridge? Tell the truth, where did you get it from?).”
Yadav and his associates assaulted the shopkeeper again with a lathi when he tried explaining that he does not sell beef at his restaurant. And when the son asked the attacker to stop, he, too, was beaten repeatedly.
“Bhaiya humlog hotel chod kar ghar chalejate (Brother, we will leave the hotel and go home),” the son pleaded with the attackers. Other clips showed the two holding their ears and doing sit-ups. An even younger child standing in the corner could be seen being mishandled.
In another clip, the father-son duo was forced to admit to their “mistakes,” with the shopkeeper touching the attacker’s feet, begging him to leave them alone.
No beef, information misleading, baseless: Police
The Purnea Police, in a statement dated June 17, said a first information report (FIR) has been registered under the K Nagar Police Station against three known and unidentified individuals, including the person behind the Facebook account.
The accused were booked for “hurting the sentiments of a religious community, the police said. The authorities have launched an investigation, and police teams are conducting raids to apprehend the accused.
The hotel owner filed a complaint against the accused, alleging assault, following the investigation.
“The information about cow and buffalo meat mentioned on social media accounts is misleading and baseless,” the police said.
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