An elderly man was repeatedly slapped and verbally abused by fellow passengers on a moving train in Maharashtra after they suspected him of carrying beef. Despite dozens of people witnessing the incident, some even smiling, no one stepped in to help the man.
The distressing video, laced with expletives, shows nearly a dozen men interrogating Ashraf Munyar about the contents of two large plastic boxes he was carrying. They asked him questions like, “What are you carrying? Where are you going? Where are you from? Don’t you get goats there? How many people are going to eat it?”
Visibly shaken, the elderly man managed to explain that he was taking the meat to his daughter’s family. Mr. Munyar, who resides in Jalgaon district, was traveling on the Dhule Express to visit his daughter’s home in Malegaon.
Unconvinced by his explanation, the men continued questioning him about the meat, recording the entire exchange on their phones. At one point, the victim mentioned that the boxes contained buffalo meat.
“We will know about it (the kind of meat) once we get it tested,” one of the men responded. Another commented, “It’s Sawan season. It’s our festival and you are doing this.”
Sawan, or the month of Shravan, is regarded as one of the holiest months for Hindus.
The Maharashtra Animal Preservation Act of 1976 prohibits the slaughter of cows, bulls, and bullocks, but does not ban the slaughter of buffaloes.
The Railway Commissioner confirmed the incident and stated that a First Information Report (FIR) has been filed. The railway police are now searching for the passengers involved in the assault.
After the video gained traction online, the Government Railway Police (GRP) reached out to the elderly man, who was initially reluctant to file a complaint.
Two suspects, identified as residents of Dhule, have been identified by the police, who have sent a team to Dhule to apprehend them.
Jitendra Awhad, a leader from Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction, condemned the incident and criticized the state’s law and order situation. “Some youngsters beat him up because they thought he was carrying beef. This is not Maharashtra. This is not our culture. Where will this stop?” he asked.
“80 per cent of people in Maharashtra are non-vegetarians, this is our Maharashtra. 95 per cent of the people on the coastal line are non-vegetarians. We respect all religions. We respect Jains too, but what’s this hate of beating people on the basis of suspicion? They would have run away by now too. How are they not ashamed to beat someone, who is as old as your father?” he added.