NEW DELHI: The reported thrashing of three Muslim men on suspicion of transporting beef in Bihar is a “clear confirmation” of the BJP assuming power in the state, a top CPI(M) leader said.
Responding to questions, Sitaram Yechury, leader of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) told reporters that lynching and mob violence have “entered Bihar as soon as the BJP came to power there.”
“It is a clear confirmation that BJP has assumed power in Bihar. Now only Hindutva policies will be implemented while he (Nitish Kumar) continues to remain the Chief Minister,” he said.
In a first of its kind in Bihar, a mob in in Shahpur near Ara town of Bhojpur district led by cow vigilantes on Thursday thrashed a truck driver Mohammad Sarfuddin Khan and two passengers Mohammad Ajmullah Khan and Mohammad Gulam Khan on suspicion of transporting beef.
They also tried to set on fire the vehicle which was on its way to Muzaffarpur district. But the police said they foiled the attempt.
The police later seized the truck and detained the three persons after being rescued from the mob. The protesters blocked the Ara-Buxar road demanding that the three men be handed over to them. The police refused to do that.
They will be interrogated whether they were carrying beef or buffalo meat.
“The truck driver has confessed that they were carrying buffalo meat and not cow meat,” the official said.
Growing incidents of self-styled cow vigilante groups “killing people” in the name of “gau bhakti” have triggered nationwide condemnation and outrage.
With agency inputs