Group beats up man in Ujjain, accuses him of cow slaughter

One youth is seen recording the beatings on his cellphone camera.

Police have arrested four persons for beating up a man while accusing him of involvement in cow slaughter near a temple in Ujjain town. The police claimed the incident near the Gumandev temple on Sunday had nothing to do with cow slaughter. They said the victim, Appu Malviya had given a loan to Rs 1,000 to Chetan Sankhla, one of the four arrested youths. When Appu went to get his money back, the attack happened.

However, in a video that is being widely circulated, several youths are seen beating up Malviya with belts and repeatedly kicking and slapping him. Several voices in the group accuse and taunt Malviya regarding cow slaughter. “Gai katwate ho (you kill cows),” is a line repeatedly heard in the video as Malviya is slapped and kicked. One youth is seen recording the beatings on his cellphone camera.

“It’s a shame that despite being a Hindu you are involved in cow slaughter,” an attackers is heard saying. Malviya is also accused of being a thief. Ujjain superintendent of police Manohar Singh Varma was asked about the charge of cow slaughter when he said the attack was a money-lending tiff. Varma said the attackers deliberately used the words to mislead people and “become heroes because media repeatedly airs such footage”.

The police registered a case only after the video went viral. Malviya was too scared to approach the police. The accused have been booked under IPC sections that deal with voluntarily causing hurt, obscene acts in public, criminal intimidation and an act done by several persons for furthering a common intention.