15, Jan 2016

• HT Correspondents, Hindustan Times, Bhopal/Harda| Updated: Jan 15, 2016 15:07 IST

Hindu right-wing activists belonging to a cow protection group allegedly assaulted a Muslim couple on a train in Madhya Pradesh on the suspicion of carrying beef, which was in fact buffalo meat found in another passenger’s luggage.
Police said that a laboratory test confirmed it was not beef but buffalo meat and the bag containing the “suspected item” didn’t belong to the couple — Mohammed Husain and wife Naseema Bi who were travelling on Wednesday from Khandwa to hometown Harda on the Kushinagar Express.
When they reached Khirkiya railway station, about 150km south of Bhopal and about 35km from the couple’s destination, the activists boarded the train and demanded to search their luggage for beef.
The activists turned violent and started to kick and punch when the couple protested and denied carrying beef. They also started throwing their luggage onto the platform, police said quoting witnesses. In the process, bags of some other passengers were thrown out too.
This led to a two-hour altercation and the activists were “taught a lesson” by a group of people who had gathered at the railway station after hearing the commotion.
“About four men boarded our coach fist and others joined them later. They started pushing and manhandling passengers, including my husband sitting next to the door. They pushed me as well when I objected. We told them we were not carrying beef or any meat and knew nothing if something else did. Still they threw out our bags. We were very scared,” Naseema told Hindustan Times.