Five Muslim men Wasim Ansari, Aftab Ansari, Shahbaz, Naseem Ansari, and Aijaz Ansari on the road from Dumraon village to Pelawal in Hazaribagh district, Jharkhand, were beaten up by a cow-vigilante mob that accused them of transporting cattle for slaughter. They were badly beaten up, and two of them were nearly buried alive, escaping with severe injuries to their eyes and limbs.
A team of AIPF members headed by Anil Anshuman along with the United Muslim Forum members went to RIMS hospital to meet the injured victims. Subsequently another AIPF team led by former CPI(ML) MLA Vinod Singh visited Pelawal on 29th August and met the victims and their families.
Sahela Khatun of Dumraon told the team that she had set out for her maternal home in Pelawal, taking her Jersey cow, goats and some household items with her in a Tata 407 mini-bus. Her relatives were following her on motorcycles. The relatives were waylaid near Dumraon by cow-vigilantes who not only beat them up but dragged them behind a motorcycle and set the mini-bus on fire.
The team addressed a press conference demanding justice for the victims, a ban on cow-vigilante groups and also announced a dharna to be held at the Hazaribagh district headquarters on 1 September.
