Hathras (UP): Four alleged cattle smugglers transporting a dead buffalo were assaulted by a mob in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.
Villagers alleged that the men were caught in Nagla Mandhata village while they were transporting the buffalo’s carcass in a pick-up van. They were, however, rescued by the police who intervened in time, Hasayan SHO Jitendra Kumar said. The owner of the buffalo alleged that the men had poisoned the animal.
Superintendent of police Sushil Ghule said action would be initiated if it was found that the men were cattle smugglers.
The incident, which took place before dawn in Hathras district, about 200km from Delhi, assumes significance as it came against the backdrop of a backlash over the death of a man attacked by cow vigilantes in Rajasthan.
This is the latest in a series of mob attacks that have become quite frequent in various parts of the country.
Rakbar Khan, 28, died after he was thrashed by a mob at Alwar in Rajasthan on suspicion of cattle smuggling last week. Khan was attacked by villagers who thought he was smuggling cows. A delay in taking him to hospital caused his death.
The government has constituted a group of ministers to examine ways of checking what the Supreme Court termed “mobocracy” and report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Centre put out an advisory on Tuesday, asserting that states need to take measures against such incidents.
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