New Delhi: Two men from Uttar Pradesh were allegedly lynched to death and one was severely injured while transporting buffaloes as cow vigilantes attacked them in Raipur, Chattisgarh, The Times of India reported.
As per the TOI report, a video which surfaced on social media shows the injured person identified as 23-year-old Saddam Qureshi saying that 14-15 people had attacked them, two of them were beaten to death and their bodies were thrown from a bridge onto the river bed. Further, Qureshi added that he had jumped off the same bridge to save himself.
Confirming the incident, sources told TOI that 15-20 cow vigilantes suspected that the truckers were smuggling cows and followed the Chhattisgarh-registered truck from Patewa on Mahasamund-Arang Road, around 70 km from Raipur. They attacked the three men after stopping them on a bridge on the Mahanadi river around 2 am-3 am. The police reportedly arrived within an hour of receiving the information.
As per an Indian Express report, those killed were 35-year-old Guddu Khan from Shamli and 23-year-old Chand Miya Khan from Saharanpur. Quresh is Chand’s cousin and also hailed from Saharanpur.
A cousin of Qureshi and Chand told IE that the latter called around 2 am and informed that the vehicle was “stopped” and they were being “assaulted”. Later, Qureshi called around 3 am. “Qureshi was a helper. He called and kept the phone in his pocket. He was screaming that his hand and leg were broken. He was pleading, ‘bhaiya paani pila do ek ghoot. Maro mat bas paani pila do (give me a sip of water, please don’t beat me)’,” IE quoted the person as saying.
“We could also hear some men ask him, ‘kahan se laaye ho… chodenge nahi (where did you bring it from… we will not spare you)’,” the person added. The family allegedly tried calling Chand’s number. Around 5 am the person alleged that some police personnel answered Chand’s phone and informed them about his death.
