Elham Asaad Buaras
India’s cow vigilantism crisis has escalated to a disturbing new level, characterised by a recent increase in brutal lynchings and attempted murders of Muslims. Hindu extremists have intensified their violent actions, targeting Muslims based on mere allegations of beef consumption or “smuggling.”
Anti-hate organisations had anticipated a reduction in such violence following the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) loss of its majority in this year’s general election. However, the recent lynching of a migrant worker and a Hindu schoolboy mistaken for a Muslim, along with the violent assault on a grandfather within a week, have undermined these expectations.
The most recent victim, Sabir Malik, was beaten to death in Charkhi Dadri district of Haryana on August 27. Malik, a 22-year-old migrant worker from West Bengal, had moved to the area with his wife and 2-year-old daughter to work as a ragpicker.
He was lured by the accused under the guise of selling empty plastic bottles and was then viciously attacked. Despite attempts by bystanders to intervene, Malik was taken to a different location where the assault continued, leading to his death.
Earlier that day, police had been alerted by a group of youths alleging that beef was being cooked and consumed in local shanties. Although the police seized the meat and sent it for testing, the accused reportedly took the law into their own hands and killed Malik. According to Malik’s relatives, they were summoned to the police station on the same day and questioned about beef consumption.
According to Haryana police, seven members of a cow vigilante group have been arrested in connection with this brutal lynching. The accused have been identified as Abhishek, Mohit, Ravinder, Kamaljeet, and Sahil. Malik, who lived in a shanty near Bandhra village, earned a living collecting waste and rags.
This violence follows a separate, equally horrific incident just days earlier. On August 23, 18-year-old schoolboy Aryan Mishra was shot and killed by members of a nationwide right-wing Hindu militia, Gau Raksha Dal (Cow Protection Association), who mistook him for a Muslim. The group pursued Mishra’s car for about 18 miles on the mistaken belief that it was involved in cattle smuggling.
The attackers, named Anil Kaushik, Varun, Krishna, Adesh, and Saurabh, had been tracking the car. Mishra and his friends, Harshit and Shanky, were in the car when they were stopped by the vigilantes. Misinterpreting the situation due to a prior dispute, the vigilantes opened fire, killing Mishra.
Initially, the suspects attempted to mislead investigators by claiming they had disposed of the weapon, but it was later found at Kaushik’s home. During questioning at the police station, Kaushik was confronted by Mishra’s grieving father, Siyanand. Siyanand, 49, told The Times that Kaushik admitted to him, “I made a big mistake. Your son was a Hindu. I thought he was a Muslim.”
The heartbroken father then asked the gang member if the killing would have been justified had his son been Muslim, questioning, “For a cow? Is a Muslim not human?” “I told him he was a disgrace to Hindus and should rot in jail,” Siyanand added. According to The Print, Kaushik expressed regret, telling Siyanand he had killed “a brother” after mistakenly believing the Hindu teen was Muslim.
Haryana has seen a disturbing rise in lynchings and mob violence linked to cow vigilantism over the past decade. In 2023, two Muslim men from Rajasthan, Nasir and Junaid, were abducted and burnt to death in a car in Haryana.
Their charred bodies were discovered in a burnt vehicle near Loharu town, provoking widespread outrage. In the aftermath, Monu Manesar, alias Mohit Yadav, and 20 others from a Bajrang Dal cow vigilante group were charged, reflecting the growing tension and violence surrounding cow protection in the region.
In a related incident, an elderly Muslim man was brutally attacked by a Hindu mob during a train ride on suspicion of carrying beef—a shocking event that has further highlighted the rising tide of anti-Muslim hatred in India.
Ashraf Ali Sayyad Hussain, 72, a resident of Chalisgaon in North Maharashtra, was on his way to visit his daughter in Kalyan, near Mumbai, on August 28. As he boarded the Dhule CSMT Express, the journey started like any other. Hussain found a seat after the train passed Nashik station and settled in. But soon, a group of young men in the compartment began to scrutinise a plastic bag he was carrying.
Suspicion quickly turned to hostility. “Are you carrying beef?” they demanded. Despite Hussain’s attempts to explain that the meat in his bag was buffalo, the mob’s anger only intensified.
The situation spiralled out of control. The young men began to assault Hussain, punching him in the face, kicking him in the stomach, and tearing his clothes. They accused him of violating a deeply sensitive cultural taboo, and their rage seemed to have no bounds. As they continued their assault, they threatened to throw him off the moving train, their words filled with malice: “We’ll kill you.”
The ordeal lasted until the train reached Thane station around 1:30 pm. Bruised, bloodied, and deeply shaken, Hussain managed to get off the train, hoping the nightmare was over.
But even then, some of the men followed him, and the fear of further violence kept him from immediately seeking help. It wasn’t until later, after a viral video of the attack surfaced on social media, that Hussain found the courage to file a police complaint.
The disturbing footage showed the elderly man surrounded by a mob, beaten and harassed over a suspicion that has too often been the trigger for violence in India. The video quickly gained attention, drawing widespread condemnation and raising urgent questions about the safety of minority communities in the country.
The Government Railway Police filed a First Information Report under several sections of India’s criminal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which includes charges related to unlawful assembly, rioting, and criminal intimidation. The three suspects were controversially released on bail within 24 hours, which has incited widespread outrage.
For Hussain’s family, the attack was not an isolated incident of violence but a deliberate hate crime. His younger brother expressed their deep distress, stating that Hussain was targeted because of his religion. “This was a hate crime,” he said, calling for the perpetrators to be held fully accountable under the law.
Photo: On August 28, Ashraf Ali Sayyad Hussain, 72, was left bruised, bloodied, and deeply shaken after being assaulted by Hindu extremists in a train carriage on suspicion of carrying beef. (Credit: Screengrab/NDTV Commons)
