India: Muslim man beaten to death for killing a cow

People in central India have beaten a man to death for allegedly killing a cow, police said.

According to Press Trust India, Siraj Khan, a 45-year-old tailor, was attacked by a crowd in central India following the slaughter of a cow, considered by Hindus to be sacred. The same source reports that Khan was attacked in the Satna district of Madhya Pradesh state early Friday, May 18, alongside his friend Shakeel Maqboo.

Although Khan died on the spot, his friend was admitted to the hospital for injuries sustained as a result of the crowd. A local police chief, Arvind Tiwari, said 400 additional police officers were deployed in the area after the incident.

Tiwari said four people were arrested in connection with the crime. “We arrested four people and they were detained, we are investigating what started the attack,” he said. The police officer also stated that the meat and carcass of the animal had been found at the scene of the crime.

In most Indian states, killing, owning or consuming a cow is forbidden because Hindus regard cows as sacred. However, in Madhya Pradesh, killing a cow results in up to seven years’ imprisonment while many other parts of India impose life sentences for such an offense.

Although Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party promised to ban the slaughter of cows in India, many victims, mostly Muslims, continued to fall into the net. Last year, a dairy farmer was killed by the roadside for transporting cows while a Muslim teenager accused of transporting beef was stabbed to death in a crowded train.