Another shocking incident of ‘cow-hooliganism’ has surfaced from Gujarat. If Una flogging was not enough to cause enough outrage, controversy has erupted over the death of a 29-year old man on Friday after he was allegedly thrashed by so-called cow vigilantes.
A footwear salesman, Mohammed Ayyub Shaikh, died due to head injuries and other wounds in the course of his treatment. He was admitted after his car allegedly met with an accident on Monday, a day before Eid ul Zuha. A friend who was traveling with him, Samir Shaikh was arrested by police for illegal possession of a calf and beef. He has said in his police complaint that they were chased and thrashed by cow vigilantes.
A complaint has been lodged by Anandnagar police against unknown accused. Ayyub is survived by wife Sarina and two children.His maternal uncle Aziz Pathan alleged that police have fabricated the accident story to shield the accused.”We will not bury the body until the accused are arrested,” Pathan said.
The version of the entire incident as presented by Ayyub’s friend Akhtar Shekani speaks of the “inaction of police” while his friend was being thrashed and he said, “Punish them for transporting calves according to the law. But nobody has the right to take law into his own hands,” said Shekani. Shaikh’s complaint says Ayyub’s car met with an accident at Honest cross-roads after he accelerated on being chased by a car. He alleged that post-accident they were dragged out and thrashed by cow vigilantes only to be saved by police.
Cops, however, say there is no evidence supporting Shaikh’s claims. Ahmedabad police commissioner Shivanand Jha said, “CCTV footage of the stretch does not show any car chasing Ayyub’s car. We are further analyzing more CCTV footage and will take appropriate action once investigation is over,” added Jha.
