India: Muslim man lynched on suspicion of cow theft
55-year-old man was attacked by mob with rods and sticks in eastern state of Bihar, police say
A Muslim man was beaten to death by a mob over suspicion of cow theft in India’s eastern state of Bihar, police said on Thursday.
The victim, identified as 55-year-old Mohammed Kabul, was attacked by a mob with rods and sticks.
"The incident happened on the intervening night of December 29-30 in Araria district. One man was killed by a mob who was suspected to be stealing cattle and cows in the village," said K D Singh, a senior police officer in the district.
He said investigation have been launched and efforts are being made to arrest the suspects who were part of mob.
The entire incident was captured in a video, in which the victim is seen pleading to spare him, India Today, a local broadcaster, said in a report.
"The mob mercilessly kicked him in the face, bashed him with sticks and kept calling him a ‘chor’ [thief]. Surprisingly, the videos doing rounds on social media have been clicked by the attackers on their mobile devices," the report said.
Cows are considered sacred in the Hindu religion and since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 there has been a rise in attacks on Muslim cattle owners by Hindu nationalists, with several self-styled cow protection groups emerging in the country.
