An elderly man was slapped and abused repeatedly on a moving train by his co-passengers who suspected him of carrying beef in Maharashtra. Dozens watched the horror unfold in front of them, some with smiles on their faces, but did nothing to help the man.
The disturbing video, filled with expletives, shows nearly a dozen men interrogating Ashraf Munyar over a meat-like substance in two big plastic boxes that he was carrying: “What are you carrying? Where are you going? Where are you from? Don’t you get goats there? How many people are going to eat it?”
The elderly man, who looked visibly shaken, managed a feeble response that he was taking the meat for his daughter’s family. Mr Munyar, a resident of Jalgaon district, was travelling on Dhule Express to his daughter’s house in Malegaon.
The men, dissatisfied with his response, kept questioning him about the meat and recording the exchange on their phones. At one point, the victim said that the boxes contained buffalo meat.
“We will know about it (the kind of meat) once we get it tested,” responded one of the men. “It’s sawan season. It’s our festival and you are doing this,” said another.
Sawan, or the month of Shravan, is considered one of the most holy months for Hindus.
The Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act 1976 bans the slaughter of cows, bulls and bullocks. Buffaloes are not covered under the ban.
The Railway Commissioner has confirmed the incident and registered a First Information Report (FIR) in the matter. The railway police is looking for the passengers who beat him up, the commissioner said.
After the video went viral, the Government Railway Police (GRP) contacted the elderly person who was not initially ready to lodge a complaint.
The police have identified two accused who are residents of Dhule. A police team has also been sent to Dhule to look for them.
Leader of Sharad Pawar’s NCP camp Jitendra Awhad criticised the incident and blamed the law and order situation in the state. “Some youngsters beat him up because they thought he was carrying beef. This is not Maharashtra. This is not our culture. Where will this stop,” he questioned.
“80 per cent people in Maharashtra are non-vegetarians, this is our Maharashtra. 95 per cent of the people on the coastal line are non-vegetarians. We respect all religions. We respect Jains too, but what’s this hate of beating people on the basis of suspicion? They would have run away by now too. How are they not ashamed to beat someone, who is as old as your father,” he added.
