A strange series events unfolded in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh in the last week of May. A mob with links to Hindutva groups brutally thrashed four Muslim men over suspicion of transporting cow meat. Horrific videos of the assault showed the victims in a bloodied state, stripped as they were beaten black and blue. Lab reports later found no trace of cow meat being transported. However, the police complaint filed by one of the assailants against the victims, invoking the state ban on cow slaughter, remains.
The incident raises several concerns. One, the unchecked rise of cow vigilantism in the country, which seems to be turning into an extortion racket. Two, the state of law and order in Uttar Pradesh. Three, the basic knowledge regarding different kinds of bovine meat and the legal implications of consuming or transporting them, which seems to evade many so-called cow protection activists or gau rakshaks. And lastly, just how easily cow protectionism can be used to target a community.
On May 24, a mob associated with a Hindutva group assaulted four Muslim men, Akeel, Kadeem, Akil and Arbaaj, near Aligarh's Alhadadpur village for allegedly transporting beef. According to a first information report (FIR) filed by the victims, they were transporting meat from the Al Ammar Meat Factory in Aligarh to Atrauli town in a pickup truck as part of their daily routine.
The Assault
The complaint filed by the victims alleged that Ramkumar Arya, a resident of Harduaganj, and Arjun alias Bholu, allegedly conspired and sent several people as soon as their vehicle reached the road from Paneethi to Sadhu Ashram. These people stopped the vehicle, pulled out these four Muslim men and demanded a sum of Rs 50,000. When two of the men transporting the meat, Akeel and Arbaaj, refused to pay, two men—later identified as Ravindra alias Bunty and Luvkush—ordered the others to beat them up. This mob attacked the transporters with iron rods, sticks, batons, and sharp weapons, besides looting cash and mobile phones. Their vehicle was also set ablaze.
According to the FIR, the victims were in a critical, near-death condition while being held hostage. The assailants allegedly fled from the scene after the police arrived.
Note that the men were transporting meat from one of the factories of Al Ammar Frozen Foods Exports Pvt. Ltd, an Aligarh-based meat company authorised by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority to transport and export buffalo meat. The FIR, filed by the father of one of the victims, also alleged that those accused in this case had similarly tried to stop a vehicle from the Al Ammar meat factory 15 days ago and tried to extort a sum of Rs 50,000 then too. At the time, the Akrabad police rescued the vehicle, it said.
Sections 3(5) (common intention), 109 (abetment of offences), 190 (liability of members of unlawful assembly), 191(2) (rioting), 191(3) (rioting with deadly weapons), 308(5) (extortion by threat of death or grievous hurt), and 310(2) (dacoity) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita were invoked in the FIR filed on behalf of the victims at Harduaganj police station. Those named as accused in the case are Ramkumar Arya, Arjun (Arjun Singh Bholu), Chetan Lodhi, Shivam Hindu, Ravindra alias Bunty, Luvkush, Anuj Thakur Bhoora, Vijay, Girish Kumar Singh Pradhan, Ankit Mahmoodpur, Rana Ahladpur and Vijay Kumar Guma. There were about 20-25 unnamed assailants.
Interestingly, an FIR was filed against the victims by a man named Vijay Bajrangi, accusing them under sections of the UP Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955. In this FIR, Bajrangi said he received a tip-off regarding beef being transported on the morning of May 24. He then followed the vehicle on Panaithi Road, Alhadadpur village. Bajrangi alleged that the vehicle tried to crush his bike and he lost balance. Upon seeing this, local labourers and farmers ran towards the spot, and the four men attacked them. Bajrangi claimed he spotted seven decapitated cows in the vehicle. He alleged that the four men were smuggling cow meat after bribing the police with a sum of Rs 3 lakh. He also claimed the same vehicle was brought to the police's attention 15 days ago for transporting beef.
Bajrangi was among the three people arrested in the case by the Aligarh police on May 26.
Not Cow, Buffalo Meat
On May 28, four days after the incident, Aligarh police revealed that meat from the vehicle was sent for testing and lab reports confirmed it was not cow meat. A Times of India report, citing the Food Science Laboratory's report, said that the men were transporting buffalo meat. By then, the police had made one more arrest in the case.
Under Section 5 of the U.P. Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, which was amended through Ordinance in 2020, selling, transporting or offering to sell or transport beef or beef products (beef here refers to cow meat or cow flesh) is banned in the state and is a punishable offence, unless for medicinal reasons. Meat can be imported in sealed containers under certain conditions.
Section 5A of the Act says nobody can transport or offer to transport or cause a cow, bull or bullock to be transported from anywhere within Uttar Pradesh to outside the state, except under a permit issued by an officer authorised by the state government through a notified order and only by the terms and conditions of such a permit. Penalty for breaking the law is punishable with imprisonment for three to 10 years and a fine between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
Note that the state has not banned the sale, transport, export or consumption of buffalo meat (buff) or carabeef. In fact, UP contributes significantly to buffalo meat exports from India. However, a crackdown by cow vigilantes, such as those in Aligarh, who often confuse buffalo meat for cow meat, has threatened to disrupt business several times in the past.
One of the videos of the Aligarh incident that surfaced online precisely illustrates this. The video showed that the vehicle was laden with skinned meat and bovine carcasses. Since these weren't live animals, the vigilantes had no way of conclusively determining that it was cow meat. However, they still targeted the men transporting it and allegedly tried to extort money. This is not the first instance of cow vigilantes mistaking buffalo meat for beef.
On May 31, the Indian Express reported that the Aligarh police would remove sections of cow slaughter from the FIR against the victims. "The provisions related to cow slaughter will be removed since the FSL report confirmed that it was buffalo meat. But if we find other lacunae in meat transportation, permission or under the Cruelty to Animals Act, the relevant sections will be added to the FIR," Aligarh superintendent of police (rural) Amrit Jain told the publication.
The Assailants
Alt News found that at least two individuals among the assailants named in the FIR had links to the Bajrang Dal and the Vishwa Hindu Parishad.
One of them is Ramkumar Arya. His Facebook profile bio says he is with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Harigarh. In 2023, a resolution to rename Aligarh as Harigarh was passed in the Municipal Corporation and sent to the state government for consideration.
Arya has another Facebook profile in which he has shared photos of him at events by the Bajrang Dal.
Another video of the Aligarh incident shows a man making a video of the spot where the victims were assaulted. He identifies himself as Chetan from the Bajrang Dal. In the video, towards the end, Chetan says that the carcasses of cows have been found. Referring to those caught as "mullon" (a derogatory term for Muslims), he said they weren't admitting to their deeds.
After the Aligarh violence, Right-wing groups Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal have distanced themselves from the incident. In a press conference held on May 26, VHP's department minister Mukesh Rajput said the organisation had nothing to do with the incident. VHP Braj's social media chief Pratik Raghuvanshi also condemned the allegations levelled against VHP and Bajrang Dal and demanded strict action against those defaming the organisation.
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