Patna: A large crowd of villagers, led by suspected cow vigilantes, on Thursday badly assaulted a truck driver and two others for allegedly transporting beef in Bihar.
The incident highlights how hardline Hindu outfits have suddenly become active since the recent formation of a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the state, in which Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is a partner.
This is the first such incident in Bihar in the aftermath of Janata Dal United (JD-U) leader Nitish Kumar walking out of the erstwhile ruling Grand Alliance to form his government with the support of the Hindu nationalist BJP last week.
The assault took place in the Shahapur locality of central Bihar’s Bhojopur district on Thursday.
Police said a truck carrying beef was passing through the area when local villagers led by a Bajrang Dal leader Arjun Singh stopped it and caught all three people aboard — including the driver.
Subsequently, all were badly beaten up by the mob.
Police reached the spot within a short time and rescued the three.
Officers also confiscated the truck.
The arrested driver reportedly told the police that he was carrying buffalo meat and not beef, and the consignment was being transported to Muzaffarpur, a north Bihar town.
“A truck loaded with beef was intercepted by locals. We have seized the truck and arrested three persons in this regard. Further investigation is on,” a local police official Daya Shankar told the media Thursday.
The local district magistrate Sanjaeev Kumar told journalists the meat was procured from an illegal slaughter house running in the area, adding the confiscated load had been sent for testing.
The incident comes close on the heel of the newly-appointed animal husbandry minister Pashupati Kumar Paras announcing that no new slaughter house would be opened in Bihar and that there would be a blanket ban on cow slaughter. He made this declaration while taking charge of the office on Monday.
Until recently, the lynching or beating of villagers on the suspicion of carrying beef was common in neighbouring BJP-ruled States but Bihar had remained completely untouched. Now, this state too has got included in the list of such states which saw violence over beef. In June-end, a 45-year-old Muslim trader was lynched in Ramgarh district of Jharkhand on the suspicion of carrying beef.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Thursday reacted bitterly over thrashing of three persons in Bihar Thursday. “It’s a clear confirmation that the BJP has assumed power in Bihar. Now, only Hindutva policies will be implemented while he (Nitish Kumar) continues to remain chief minister,” CPIM general secretary Sitaram Yechury told the media in Delhi.
