Man Accused Of Carrying Beef Killed In Jharkhand, Police Says 'Premeditated Murder'

Ranchi: A man has been beaten to death in Jharkhand by a group of people who accused him of carrying beef in his car, which they set on fire. Three days ago a dairy owner was attacked by a 1,000-strong mob in the state and his home was set on fire after the carcass of a cow was found near the house.

Thursday's attack came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the killing of people by cow vigilantes is unacceptable. "Killing people in the name of Gau Bhakti is not acceptable," said the PM, adding, "No person in this nation has the right to take the law in his or her own hands in this country."

The Prime Minister said protecting cows, sacred for Hindus, is needed, "No one spoke about protecting cows more than Mahatma Gandhi and Acharya Vinoba Bhave...this (violence) is not something Mahatma Gandhi would approve of."

Alimuddin, also known as Asgar Ansari, was driving his Maruti van when he was stopped and brutally attacked by a group of people near Bajartand village in Ramgarh district. A senior officer said the police "swung into action" as soon as they heard about the attack and rescued Mr Ansari, but he died in hospital.

The officer, RK Malik, has called it "premeditated murder". He said the attackers seemed to have been lying in wait for Mr Ansari, who was "involved in some trading or business of meat." The killers he said have been identified and are suspected to be people who had business dealings with Mr Ansari. He said he could not confirm whether Mr Ansari was carrying beef.  

A complaint has been filed againt 12 people. Alimuddin's burial will be done today.

On Monday, a massive mob attacked Usman Ansari, a dairy owner in Bariabad village in Jharkhand's Giridih district. The police said they reached in time to rescue the 55-year-old Usman Ansari, but they were blocked by the mob and had to use lathis and fire in the air to dispserse them. About 50 policemen were injured in stone throwing by the mob.  

Mr Ansari and his family were evacuated and the dairy owner was taken to hospital in critical condition, but is stable now.

People across the country protested on Wednesday against the rising incidents of mob attacks and cow vigilantism across the country. Last week, a group of people on a train killed 16-year-old Junaid Khan, who was travelling home to his village in Haryana with his brother and two cousins after a shopping excursion to Delhi ahead of Eid.

The attackers, about 20 men, accused the teen and his companions of carrying beef and yelled religious slurs at them before they beat Junaid Khan and stabbed him to death. He was thrown off the train.

Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said earlier this week that the death of Junaid Khan was "extremely shameful and painful" and that such attacks would not be tolerated.