Muslim Man Accused Of Smuggling Beef, Killed By Mob In Maharashtra: Cops

A man was beaten to death Saturday night allegedly by a group of cow vigilantes on suspicion of smuggling beef in Nashik district of Maharashtra.

Afan Ansari - the 32-year-old victim from Mumbai's Kurla - along with his aide Nasir Sheikh was transporting meat in a car when they were allegedly intercepted and thrashed by cow vigilantes.

Both of them were admitted to a hospital where one person died during treatment, police said.

"On reaching the spot, we found the car in a damaged condition. The injured men were inside the car and we admitted them to a nearby hospital where one of them died," said sub-inspector Sunil Bhamre.

The police have detained ten people so far in the case.

On the complaint of the injured person, we have registered a case of murder and rioting and are probing it, said the police.

Whether they were indeed transporting beef or not will be known only after the lab report comes, they added.

Earlier in March, the Maharashtra government approved a proposal to set up a commission to implement the law banning the slaughter of cows, eight years after the Bombay High Court upheld the validity of the Act banning cattle slaughter. The court said that a competent authority could enter, stop, and search any vehicle used for the export of a cow, bull or bullock and seize it. The court also upheld the prohibition on transporting flesh for the purpose of slaughter.