23, Sep 2025 | CJP Team

A 35-year-old farmer from Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur was brutally lynched in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district after being accused of cow smuggling, in what his family describes as a targeted hate crime disguised as vigilantism.

The victim, Aasif Babu Multani, and his cousin Mohsin, both residents of Multanpur in Mandsaur, had travelled to Bhilwara’s Lambia Raila cattle market on September 15 to purchase oxen and buffaloes for their fields and dairy business. As reported by Indian Express, in the early hours of September 16, as they drove home, their pickup van was chased, forced off the road, and surrounded by 14–15 men who dragged them out and beat them mercilessly.

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According to Mohsin, who managed to escape by hiding in nearby woods, the mob kept shouting “gau taskar” (cow smuggler) as they rained blows on Aasif. The report of The Hindu provides that “They didn’t even ask questions. They saw cattle, saw Muslims, and decided we were smugglers,” he said. The assailants also allegedly seized ₹36,000 in cash, snatched purchase receipts, and used Aasif’s phone to call his family, demanding an additional ₹50,000 to spare his life.

Aasif was first taken to Bhilwara’s Mahatma Gandhi Hospital with severe head injuries and later referred to Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Medical College for neurosurgery. He succumbed to his injuries on September 20. He leaves behind his wife, a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, and an eight-month-old son.

His brother, Manju Pemla, broke down while speaking to The Hindu: “My brother’s only ‘crime’ was that he was Muslim and transporting cattle. There wasn’t even a cow in the van—only oxen and buffaloes. They killed him because of who he was.”

Police response

According to abplive, Bhilwara Superintendent of Police Dharmendra Singh confirmed the arrest of five individuals and the registration of an FIR under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including attempt to murder, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, voluntarily causing hurt, and extortion. A parallel case of alleged cow smuggling has also been filed against the victims.

According to the report, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe the case using CCTV footage and digital evidence. Officials say the SIT will also examine whether personal enmity, extortion, or a roadside altercation played a role. However, family members insist that the attackers are part of organised cow-vigilante groups well known for harassing cattle traders.

Despite the arrests, Pemla pointed out that several accused specifically named in the FIR remain free. “The men Mohsin identified from social media videos are roaming around. Until they’re caught, we cannot feel safe,” he said.

Aasif’s death underscores a chilling pattern—where mob violence around cattle transport blends religious prejudice with criminal opportunism, leaving ordinary farmers and their families shattered.

The killing, reported in the inside pages of national dailies also reveals a sombre normalisation of such targeted vigilante driven violence; something that is almost accepted as a norm!

Image: The Hindu

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