Man Beaten To Death In Madhya Pradesh By Mob That Suspected Cow Slaughter

Bhopal: A man was beaten to death allegedly by villagers in Madhya Pradesh, after he was suspected of slaughtering cattle. The violence took place In Satna district, one of the stops for home minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a two-day visit to the state.

Riyaz Khan, a resident of Satna's Amgara village, died and his driver Shakeel, 33, was seriously injured after a mob attacked them on Thursday night. A few others, who were accompanying the two, fled the spot.

The police said two villagers returning to the village from Kaimor, had seen some people with cattle near the quarry. They informed their friends, who came there and started beating Riaz Khan and Shakeel.

Around 3 am, following a tip-off, the police reached there and took the two men to a hospital in Maihar, where Riyaz Khan succumbed to his injuries.

A slaughtered bull and meat of two other animals, packed in bags, have been recovered from the spot, said Rajesh Hingankar, a senior police officer of the area.

The police have arrested four men and murder cases will be filed against them, officers said. The arrested men -- Pawan Singh Gond, Vijay Singh Gond, Phool Singh Gond and Narayan Singh Gond - are villagers from Amgara. On the basis of complaint filed by Pawan Singh Gond, the police have filed a case of cow slaughter against Riyaz Khan and Shakeel, who is in coma in a hospital in Jabalpur.

The families of the two men have denied cow slaughter charges, say reports. Cow slaughter carries a seven-year jail term and a fine of Rs. 5,000 in the state.

In September last year, the Supreme Court asked the Centre whether it had the responsibility under the Constitution to protect people and also to ask states to crack down on cow vigilantism. The court suggested a series of tough measures to curb the increasing instances of cow vigilantism.