Honnavar: Two Muslim men were brutally assaulted for allegedly trafficking cattle on Wednesday by a group of around 150 right-wing activists in Honnavar, a port town in Uttara Kannada District in Karnataka.
A mob of over hundred ‘Gau Rakshaks’ forcefully stopped the vehicle of the two men and severely injured them, Mohammed Ismail, a relative of the victims said, as per a report by SahilOnline. Nurulameen Mukhtasar (40) and Ghufran Pothe (35) were returning to Bhatkal at around 11:30 pm after purchasing two buffaloes and a bull from Ankola when they were beaten up, he added.
Nurul said “We were legally transporting cattle from Ankola on Wednesday for a wedding, suddenly, some people in an SUV started chasing us. It was a coordinated attack as a mob of about 150 people was waiting for us in Honnavar. They attacked us as soon as we reached the town, later police rescued us.”
The two men were not admitted to Mangaluru hospital to keep the assault hidden from media, Ismail claimed. Instead, they were taken to Karwar hospital. Nurul got a hand fractured along with other serious injuries. While Ghufran received multiple injuries on his back and stomach, he added.
Nurul and Ghufran were then shifted to Manipal KMC hospital for better treatment. While Uttara-Kannada Superintendent of Police (SP), P Vinayak Patil, said that Honnavar police have already filed a case under IPC section 307 (attempt to murder) against the assailants and have also arrested four people in this connection. The further investigation is on, Patil said.