India has witnessed a surge in violent attacks carried out by Hindutva outfit members against Muslim communities since starting of June 2024.
The vicious attacks on the Muslim community have been often perpetrated by cow vigilantes who claim to be “protectors” of animals, especially cows.
In just a month, there have been reports of cow vigilantes attacking Muslims over suspicions of beef or barging into Muslim houses without hesitation to conduct raids to check meat. The series of incidents have sparked widespread outrage and concern over the growing menace of mob violence in the name of cow protection.
Cow vigilantes raid village
On June 15, a group of cow vigilantes armed with guns raided Mewat village of Haryana and assaulted two Muslim men over alleged cattle slaughter and selling beef.
In a viral video that has surfaced on the internet, the vigilantes are seen armed with guns, storming into the village and attacking the two Muslim men, accusing them of engaging in cattle slaughter and selling beef.
The video was published with a provocative voiceover against Muslims. More shockingly, in the video, police personnel in uniform are also seen standing next to the attackers.
Raids in Odisha
On June 16, cow vigilantes barged into a Muslim home and seized all the meat and their fridge, allegedly over suspicions of storing beef in Odisha’s Khordha town.
In a viral video that surfaced on the internet, a group of cow vigilantes are seen barging into a Muslim household. The mob shouted ‘Jai Shri Ram‘ slogans as they raided their refrigerator. They seized all the meat alongside the refrigerator, merely based on suspicion that the family had stored beef, leaving the family shaken and traumatised by the sudden and unprovoked attack.
Haryana meat shop raid
On June 18, a Muslim meat shop owner and two Hindu men who were there to buy chicken were assaulted by a group of cow vigilantes in Haryana.
The viral video shows the cow vigilantes entering a shop. While filming the scene, they ask for the meat seller’s names and two people purchasing chicken from the shop. Upon learning that the two men are Hindus, the person behind the camera slaps both of them saying “tum Hindu ho k be mangalwar ko meat khate ho (Despite being Hindu, you eat meat on Tuesday)”.
Rickshaw drivers attacked
On June 17, Cow vigilantes set up a checkpoint to inspect auto rickshaws with Muslim passengers for beef. They handed over four rickshaws to the police for allegedly transporting beef.
The incident occurred in Dhule city of Maharashtra.
On June 17, Cow vigilantes harassed two truck drivers for transporting cattle in Chandwad city of Maharashtra.
On June 19, members of the cow vigilante attacked a rickshaw driver in Uttar Pradesh over suspicion of carrying a bag of beef.
Muslim shop looted
On June 16, in Himachal Pradehs’s Nahan, a textile shop owned by a Muslim person was looted and vandalised by a large group of Hindus after the shopkeeper shared a picture of animal sacrifice on his WhatsApp status.
In a viral video, the Hindu mob is seen barging into the Muslim man’s shop, vandalising and looting it in police presence.
After looting and vandalizing shops, the Hindu community gathered outside the Nahan DC office, shouting slogans like “Goli maaro saalo ko (Shoot the Traitors)” and “Jai Shri Ram“.
The Cow vigilantes famously known as Gau Rakshaks, fueled by their extremist ideology, have been on the rise in the country.
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