A 29-year-old Muslim man, identified as Shahe Din, was lynched by a mob in Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad district early on Monday, following allegations of cow slaughter.
The incident occurred around 3:30 am at the Mandi Samiti premises, where Din was reportedly caught by unidentified individuals while allegedly slaughtering a cow, according to the police.
Additional Superintendent of Police (City) Ran Vijay Singh stated that eyewitnesses claimed Din was accompanied by three others, who managed to flee when locals arrived at the scene.
A cow carcass was also discovered at the location.
The mob reportedly beat Din with batons and rods before police arrived. He was rescued and taken to a hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries at 12:30 am on Tuesday.
The police have registered two first information reports (FIRs) in connection with the case. The first, filed on Tuesday at Majhola police station, accuses Din and three others of cow slaughter.
The second FIR, also filed on Tuesday on the complaint of Din’s brother, Guddu, charges unidentified individuals with murder under Section 103(1)(m) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Din’s postmortem examination was conducted overnight, and his family buried his body on Tuesday morning.
The autopsy report is expected on Wednesday.
Moradabad’s divisional commissioner, Aunjaneya Kumar Singh, assured that the situation in the district was under control and that adequate police deployment had been made to maintain law and order.
Efforts to contact Din’s family were unsuccessful.