An elderly man was allegedly slapped and abused repeatedly on a moving train by his co-passengers over suspicion of carrying beef in Maharashtra's Nashik district, the Government Railway Police (GRP) said on Saturday. A probe has been initiated into the matter, which took place earlier this week. A video of the incident which seems to have been recorded by a passenger on the train has gone viral on social media. The police have detained three accused while efforts are underway to nab the remaining accused.
In the purported video clip, the 72-year-old man can be seen surrounded by dozens of co-passengers. While some of them can be seen assaulting and verbally abusing him inside the express train, others can be seen watching the disturbing incident unfold before their eyes.
According to the GRP, the victim, Haji Ashraf Munyar is a resident of Jalgaon district and was travelling in Dhule Express to his daughter's house in Kalyan when he was allegedly assaulted near Igatpuri, news agency PTI reported.
Video Shows Co-Passengers Assaulting Elderly Man
The video shows the men interrogating the elderly man over a meat-like substance that he was carrying with himself in two transparent plastic containers. "What are you carrying? Where are you going? Where are you from? Don't you get goats there? How many people are going to eat it?" they questioned him. The sudden questioning left the man baffled ad he looked visibly shaken as he answered that he was carrying meat for his daughter's family.
Dissatisfied by Munyar's response, the men kept interrogating him and recorded the incident on their phones. As the questioning continued, the man, at one point, can be heard saying that he was carrying buffalo meat.
To this, one of the men responded: "We will know about it (the kind of meat) once we get it tested". Another said: "It's sawan season. It's our festival and you are doing this." The month of Sawan or Shravan is considered as one of the most holy months in Hinduism.
(The video contains disturbing visuals of the alleged assault. Viewer's discretion is advised.)
3 Accused Arrested, FIR Registered
Notably, the slaughter of cows, bulls, and bullocks is banned under The Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act 1976. However, buffaloes are not covered under the ban.
"We have taken cognisance of the video and identified the victim. Some of the people involved in the attack have also been identified, and a probe is on," the GRP official said.
The Railway Police Commissioner confirmed that an FIR had been resgistered regarding the incident. The GRP Thane were also ordered by the Railway Commissioner to file a case, following which the victim, who intially did not want to file a complaint, was contacted. A case was registered at the Thane Railway Police Station under sections 189(2), 191(2), 190, 126(2), 115(2), 324(4)(5), 351(2)(3), 352 of the BNS.
The railway police is looking for those who assaulted the man on the train. So far the police have arrested three accused.
NCP-SP Leader Blames Maharashtra's Law & Order Situation
Criticising the incident, NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad said: "Some youngsters beat him up because they thought he was carrying beef. This is not Maharashtra. This is not our culture. Where will this stop?" He also blamed the law and order situation in the state for the incident.
"80 per cent people in Maharashtra are non-vegetarians, this is our Maharashtra. 95 per cent of the people on the coastal line are non-vegetarians. We respect all religions. We respect Jains too, but what's this hate of beating people on the basis of suspicion? They would have run away by now too. How are they not ashamed to beat someone, who is as old as your father," he added.