Nadine Osman
A Muslim man in Bihar was tied to an electric pole and beaten in public by a mob of Hindu men – and was later taken into police custody while investigations into the assault continue.
The December 27 attack occurred as Ahmed Azad rode his motorbike through the Mathiya area of Gopalganj district. Eyewitnesses said the men, reportedly linked to Hindu nationalist groups, stopped him, searched his belongings without legal authority, and claimed to have found beef.
In several Indian states, including Bihar, the sale or slaughter of cow meat is restricted or banned. Rights groups have long warned that such laws are frequently misused to target Muslims, many of whom work in the meat trade.
Videos circulating on social media show Azad pleading for help as a crowd gathers, with the assault continuing for some time before police arrived. In one clip, a man can be heard claiming: “We have caught him with banned meat. There is a temple nearby. He had bad intentions.” Another voice alleges his motorbike was stolen. No evidence has been presented to support either claim.
A local shopkeeper described the scene as harrowing. “He was crying and asking for help, but people were afraid. No one dared to intervene,” the witness said.
Police eventually rescued Azad, seized his motorbike and the alleged meat, and placed him in judicial custody. Authorities did not immediately confirm whether any of the attackers had been detained.
Residents condemned the attack. “If there was any wrongdoing, the police should have dealt with it. Beating a man like this in public is unacceptable,” said one local resident.
Human rights activists said the incident reflects a wider pattern of targeting Muslims over suspicions of cow slaughter or beef possession and warned that vigilante attacks persist when accountability is delayed.
India has seen multiple lynchings and assaults in recent years linked to cow-related allegations, with rights groups repeatedly cautioning that weak enforcement against vigilante groups allows such attacks to continue.
Investigations into Azad’s assault are ongoing, while the local Muslim community in Gopalganj has expressed growing fear and insecurity over the possibility of further attacks.
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