Police on Thursday, 8 November, arrested five Muslims for allegedly slaughtering a cow at Bankul in South Tripura district.
The five were arrested on the basis of a complaint from a group of locals led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, The Indian Express reported. The five have been identified as Mohammad Suman Ali (20), Mohammad Farzul Haque (47), Mohammad Saiful Islam (42), Abdul Zalil (45) and Md Zainuddin (42).
Speaking to the newspaper, South Tripura Superintendent of Police Jal Singh Meena said that the five men had slaughtered the cow, news of which reached the locals, who got together as an angry mob, cornered the men and were about to beat them up.
We had to detain them and bring them away. They were produced before a local court where the judge released them on bail.Jal Singh Meena
Confirming this incident, VHP’s South Tripura District President, Biplab Sen, added that two out of the five accused, were Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, the report added.
Stating that the cow had been killed in a brick field in Bangul, Sen said that despite the call for strict action against those carrying out cow slaughter, the five accused had already killed the animal by the time police forces reached the area.
Meanwhile, the VHP, Bajrang Dal and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had convened a meeting on last Friday, 2 November, to discuss the problem of cow slaughter in the state and had even submitted a memorandum to the local administration, saying “stern steps” would be undertaken unless the problem was addressed, the report added.
Following the incident, a group of veterinary doctors conducted a post-mortem examination on the dead cow, which was cremated according to all the necessary rituals, a VHP member told The Indian Express.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)