MP: ‘Cow Protectors’ Who Killed Muslim Man Are But ‘Extortionists in Disguise’, Says His Family

Bhopal: Sheru Susadiya's family in Multanpur of Mandsaur in Madhya Pradesh have not stopped mourning since that night in the middle of September when his lifeless body was brought home. The 32-year-old farmer, who worked his own small fields and supported a family of nine, was lynched in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara on September 16 by purported cow vigilantes.

His friend and companion that night, Mohsin, survived by hiding in the dark, but what he witnessed has left him shattered.

“Sheru was killed before my eyes. They asked our names, saw we were Muslims and then started beating us,” he told The Wire.

The two had a receipt proving the cattle had been purchased legally for agriculture, but the mob tore it up, attacked them with lathis, looted their money and even phoned Sheru's family demanding Rs 50,000 to spare his life, Mohsin said.

A pattern of violence

What happened was more than mere violence: it was yet another example of how Muslims are systematically targeted, extorted and threatened under the guise of ‘cow protection’, leaving behind silenced survivors and devastated families.

According to data compiled by IndiaSpend in 2017, India recorded 66 instances of cow-related violence between 2012 and that year. Ninety-seven percent of these incidents occurred after May 2014, when the BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, came to power. The database shows only one case each in 2012 and 2013, while none were listed from 2010 and 2011. Some 85% of those killed in these attacks were Muslim.

Mohsin sounded frustrated when The Wire spoke to him. “Political parties have been visiting Sheru’s home since his death. My phone rings all day. I am exhausted from repeating the same thing over and over.

“I am a poor labourer. Sheru was like my younger brother. We had bought five animals for farming and left four at the fair while bringing one bull home. A mob of at least 20 individuals chased us, raising religious slogans. They asked our names and began beating us as soon as they heard ‘Mohsin’ and ‘Sheru’.

“They had weapons, fired shots and tore up our receipt. I escaped into the jungle after they hit me, but Sheru was not so lucky. I am hurt. I am in trouble, and only God knows the state I am in. Nobody stops the killings of Muslims in the name of cows. Who would take care of my family if I were dead in the attack? I won’t risk my life traveling again. All I want is justice, nothing else.”

In images of Sheru undergoing medical treatment that were obtained by The Wire, the lower half of his body is seen covered in bruises. His injuries suggest he may have also been struck with sharp weapons and dragged, with his skin torn in several places. Similar injuries were visible on his upper body as well.

The Banera police station in Bhilwara has registered an FIR under sections 189(2) (unlawful assembly), 308(2) (extortion), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 126(2) (wrongful restraint) and 109(1) (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against four individuals: Deva Gurjar, Kunal Malpura, Pradeep Rajpurohit and Nitesh Saini.

The FIR, reviewed by The Wire, does not invoke murder or sections pertaining to communal crimes.

At the same time, police have also registered a counter-FIR alleging cattle smuggling. The complainant in the case and Sheru’s cousin, Manzoor Pemla, claimed that both Sheru and Mohsin are named in the FIR, although Sheru's family has not yet received a copy of it.

The Madhya Pradesh Cow Slaughter Prohibition Act, 2004 bans the slaughter of cows, calves, bulls and bullocks, with penalties that include fines of at least Rs 5,000 and imprisonment of up to seven years. The law also restricts the transport of cattle for slaughter both within and outside the state and allows the authorities to seize vehicles used for smuggling.

Amendments were introduced in 2019 to address cow vigilantism, adding provisions aimed at curbing mob violence carried out in the name of cow protection, but Article 14 has reported that these never received the governor's assent.

The last call

The attackers, according to the FIR, had stopped Mohsin and Sheru near and around Sultangarh road near Bhilwara on allegations of cow slaughter.

“We know who they are,” Mohsin said. “These men have carried out at least five or six such attacks in our area. We see their faces on social media – looting, extorting, attacking. Villagers might have informed the police, but it was too late by the time the police arrived. Sheru was looted and left unconscious by the mob. It was not even a cow but a bull meant for farming. We were only attacked because of our Muslim identity.”

Sheru was first taken by the police to the Mahatma Gandhi Hospital in Bhilwara and later referred to the Sawai Man Singh Hospital in Jaipur with severe injuries. He died here on September 19.

Pemla alleged that the attackers were still present when the police arrived at the scene, yet were not taken into custody.

Police maintain that five individuals have been arrested, but none of them, alleged Pemla, are those identified in the FIR.

He recalled Sheru's life, struggles and the circumstances of the attack. Describing him as a quiet and hardworking man, Pemla said: “Sheru had a kachcha house in Multanpura. He was the sole breadwinner for a family of nine. His father had died during the COVID period, leaving him to support his frail mother, five sisters – one of whom is disabled – a 12-year-old brother, his wife and two young children,” a two-year-old daughter and an eight-month-old son. “Working in agriculture, he had bought a bull for sowing.”

His family was informed roughly half an hour after the attack when Pemla received a phone call from Sheru. “He told me, ‘They have held me captive and are demanding Rs 50,000. They will kill me. Please save me.’ Soon after, his phone was switched off.”

The FIR, however, records that Rs 36,000 was taken from Sheru, and that one of the accused, Kunal, called Pemla from Sheru’s phone, demanding Rs 50,000 to spare his life.

From parliament uproar to present silence

Pemla continued: “His wife is unable to speak, his mother’s health has worsened and the children are too young to even understand. They are broken both financially and emotionally. Sheru would never have gone if he had known what awaited him at the hands of these hooligans. Such groups operate as extortionists under the banner of cow protection. Many individuals claim links with the Bajrang Dal, whether true or not, and use that association to justify hooliganism.

“We are living in fear now. We had only seen such incidents on television, but never thought it could happen to our family. Those who attacked and killed Sheru must face the strictest punishment. This should not happen to anyone else in the future.”

Mandsaur has seen similar incidents before. Two Muslim women were attacked at a railway station in the district in July 2016. The mob assaulted them even as they were in police custody, chanting slogans such as ‘gau mata ki jai’.  A video showed police making little effort to stop the assault, which reportedly lasted nearly half an hour.

That assault, along with incidents of atrocities against Dalits, had sparked uproar in parliament, where opposition parties staged a walkout. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge had accused the BJP-led Madhya Pradesh government of enabling such attacks.

Sheru’s lynching, in contrast, has drawn little public outrage or political attention, even as his murder has left his family in deep grief and opened fresh concerns about cow-related violence, justice and the vulnerability of marginalised communities in the face of such attacks.

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