NEW DELHI (AFP) - An Indian court has sentenced 11 men to life in prison for killing a Muslim meat trader they suspected of transporting beef, in the first convictions over so-called "cow vigilantism".

The men, including a worker from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party, were found guilty of killing Alimuddin Ansari in the eastern state of Jharkhand in June 2017.

It was one of a series of attacks related to cows, which are considered sacred by Hindus.

The men were charged with murder and rioting, among other offences, under India's penal code and a court in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district delivered its verdict on Wednesday (March 21).

"The fast-track court handed them the life sentence yesterday," Rajesh Kumar, a senior police officer in Ramgarh said by phone on Thursday.

"It is the first case in which a court has convicted and punished (perpetrators) for cow vigilantism."

The police officer said a dozen men were arrested over the murder, but the court deferred its decision on the twelfth accused, who is said to be a minor.

India has witnessed a wave of rising tensions over the killing and smuggling of cows in the Hindu-majority country, where their slaughter is a punishable offence in many states, including Jharkhand.

A number of people, particularly Muslims and low-caste Dalits, have been targeted for allegedly killing cows or consuming beef.

Similar cases of cow vigilante violence are at the trial stage, according to Indian media reports.

Human Rights Watch urged law enforcers to take prompt action with credible investigations and prosecutions in the pending cases to rein in "those responsible for hate crimes".

"The authorities still have a long way to go before they can convince religious minorities and socially marginalised communities that justice can be assured," it said in a statement late on Wednesday.

Mr Modi's critics say vigilantes have been emboldened by the election in 2014 of his right-wing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which promised to completely outlaw cow slaughter across India.

The premier has condemned such vigilantism, saying murders in the name of protecting cows were unacceptable, but it has failed to deter some attackers.

In August, villagers in eastern India beat two Muslim cattle truckers to death on the pretext of protecting cows. </s> A court in the northern Indian state of Jharkhand has sentenced 11 men to life in prison for lynching a Muslim meat trader last year.

Alimuddin Ansari, 55, was beaten to death by the men for transporting beef.

This is the first time India has convicted anyone for "cow vigilantism", despite a spate of attacks on Muslim meat traders in the last few years.

Hindus consider cows sacred and killing them is illegal in several states, including Jharkhand.

Incidents of cow vigilantism have become increasingly common in India, but police investigations have often lead to acquittals of those accused.

Twelve men were arrested over Mr Ansari's murder but the court deferred its decision on the 12th accused who is reported to be a juvenile.

"We had prayed the court for maximum punishment," prosecutor Sushil Kumar Shukla told the Indian Express newspaper. He said that the court did not include the 12th accused in its decision as he was between 16 and 18 years of age.

Mr Ansari's son, Shabhan Ansari, said his family was "satisfied" with the verdict, but said they were disappointed that they had not received any compensation from the state government.

Speaking to journalists outside the court, Mr Ansari's wife Mariam Khatun said her husband's death was a tragic loss, but "did not want more bloodshed". She added that she wanted "to live in peace with her family and society".
• Why India man was lynched over beef rumours

Ever since the rise to power of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in the summer of 2014, vigilante cow protection groups have been emboldened, leading to numerous attacks on Muslims and Dalits (formerly untouchables), for whom beef is a staple.

Last year, protests engulfed India, as people across various cities decried rising attacks on Muslims and Dalits by vigilante cow protection groups . The campaign, #NotInMyName, started with a Facebook post by Saba Dewan, who organised the protests after a Muslim teenager was killed in the capital city Delhi in June 2017.

Nearly a dozen people have been killed in such attacks so far. Targets are often picked based on unsubstantiated rumours and Muslims have been attacked for even transporting cows for milk. </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Cow vigilante groups often check vehicles for illegal transportation of cows in many states

A court in the northern Indian state of Jharkhand has sentenced 11 men to life in prison for lynching a Muslim meat trader last year.

Alimuddin Ansari, 55, was beaten to death by the men for transporting beef.

This is the first time India has convicted anyone for "cow vigilantism", despite a spate of attacks on Muslim meat traders in the last few years.

Hindus consider cows sacred and killing them is illegal in several states, including Jharkhand.

Incidents of cow vigilantism have become increasingly common in India, but police investigations have often led to acquittals of those accused.

Twelve men were arrested over Mr Ansari's murder but the court deferred its decision on the 12th accused, who is reported to be a juvenile.

"We had prayed the court for maximum punishment," prosecutor Sushil Kumar Shukla told the Indian Express newspaper. He said that the court did not include the 12th accused in its decision as he was between 16 and 18 years of age.

Mr Ansari's son, Shabhan Ansari, said his family was "satisfied" with the verdict, but said they were disappointed that they had not received any compensation from the state government.

Speaking to journalists outside the court, Mr Ansari's wife Mariam Khatun said her husband's death was a tragic loss, but "did not want more bloodshed". She added that she wanted "to live in peace with her family and society".

Ever since the rise to power of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party in the summer of 2014, vigilante cow protection groups have been emboldened, leading to numerous attacks on Muslims and Dalits (formerly untouchables), for whom beef is a staple.

One of the most high-profile incidents occurred in Rajasthan last year, when a dairy farmer, Pehlu Khan, was beaten to death by cow vigilantes affiliated with ring-wing Hindu groups.

The chief minister of BJP-ruled Rajasthan offered condolences over his "demise" without mentioning the fact that he had been murdered. And a BJP lawmaker said he had "no regret" over the killing because Mr Khan was a "cow-smuggler".

Police registered a murder case and made a number of arrests, but no one has yet been convicted.

Last year, protests engulfed India, as people across various cities decried rising attacks on Muslims and Dalits by vigilante groups. The campaign, #NotInMyName, started with a Facebook post by Saba Dewan, who organised the protests after a Muslim teenager was killed in the capital Delhi in June.

About a dozen people have been killed in such attacks so far. Targets are often picked based on unsubstantiated rumours and Muslims have been attacked for even transporting cows for milk.

Human Rights Watch said here had been at least 38 such attacks last year, and 10 people killed. </s> Eleven cow protection vigilantes in the Indian state of Jharkhand have been sentenced to life in prison for killing a Muslim man who was transporting beef.

They are thought to be the first people convicted for violence in the name of the cow.

The men, including a district media officer for the ruling Bharatiya Janata party, were convicted of murder and criminal conspiracy offences by a fast-track court on Wednesday.



On the morning of 29 June 2017, the men were part of a mob that pulled Alimuddin Ansari from his vehicle, beat him to death and then set the car on fire. Videos of the crime showed the men thrashing Ansari with pieces of meat while the car burned nearby.

Extremist Hindu groups, many of which claim to be affiliated with Bharatiya Janata, have been implicated in a wave of attacks on Muslims and low-caste Hindus carried out in the name of the cow, which many Hindus regard as sacred.

At least 38 such attacks took place last year, killing 10 people, according to Human Rights Watch.

Days before the attack on Ansari, another man in Jharkhand was reportedly beaten and had his house torched after a cow carcass was found near his home. Four Muslim men were killed in another village in the state in May.

Police are often accused of condoning or ignoring cow vigilantism, in many cases charging the victims with cow smuggling or illegal slaughter.

On the day Ansari was killed, the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, made a speech calling cow vigilantism unacceptable. “No one has the right to take the law into his or her hands,” he said. “We belong to a land of non-violence. Violence is not the solution to any problem.”

Ansari’s wife, Mariam Khatun, told journalists outside the court that she mourned her husband but “did not want more bloodshed”. His son, Shahzad Ansari, told the Guardian he was “happy the court has taken the right decision”.

“My father was not doing anything wrong,” he said. “Nobody should take the law into their hands.” </s> 'Cow vigilante' attacks have increased in India in the last couple of years. Source: LenaVolkova/Shutterstock

AN Indian court sentenced 11 so-called “cow vigilantes” to life imprisonment on Wednesday for lynching a Muslim trader they suspected of transporting beef.

The ruling in the state of Jharkhand is the first instance of conviction and sentencing in a case of cow vigilantism, according to The New Indian Express.

The men were part of a mob that pulled Alimuddin Ansari from his vehicle, beat him to death and then set the car on fire in a pre-planned attack on June 29, 2017.

Videos of the crime showed the men thrashing Ansari with pieces of meat while the car burned nearby. The trader was attacked for allegedly carrying beef in his van.

SEE ALSO: India: Muslim Men beaten to death for allegedly stealing cows

The lynching occurred just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned against such attacks by vigilante group, saying the killing of people in the name of protecting cows was unacceptable.

Ansari’s wife, Mariam Khatun, welcomed the judgement, telling reporters outside the courtroom: “The death of my husband came as an irreparable loss. The accused deserved nothing less.”

Ansari’s lynching followed a string of similar attacks in Jharkhand last year. Extremist Hindu groups, many of which claim to be affiliated with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), have been implicated in a wave of attacks on Muslims and low-caste Hindus carried out in the name of the cow, which many Hindus regard as sacred.

In a bid to stop widespread criticism for their lack of action, the state government warned officers-in-charge of police stations that they would be held responsible for any such incident taking place in their jurisdiction. </s> Jharkhand court on Wednesday sentenced 11 convicts, including a BJP worker, to life imprisonment for lynching a 55-year-old man in Ramgarh on the suspicion of carrying beef.

They had beaten Asgar Ansari to death and set his vehicle on fire in June 2017 when they suspected him of carrying beef in his van. Days before the attack, two of the accused had raised the issue of Ansari being involved in the illegal trade of beef at a peace meeting held by Ramgarh police.

On March 17, the fast track court found the 11 men guilty under Section 120B in the Indian penal code indicating that the attack was pre-planned.

Three of these men are members of a local cow protection committee, according to reports. They are convicted in other charges as well in addition to this. According to a repors, this is the first time there has been a conviction in case of cow vigilantism.

The accused are Nityanand Mahato, of the BJP media cell, Vicky Saw, Sikander Ram, Vikram Prasad, Raju Kumar, Rohit Thakur, Kapil Thakur and Uttam Kumar were convicted under IPC sections 302 (murder), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 149 (unlawful assembly), 427 (mischief causing damage) and 435 (mischief by fire), Indian Express reported.

On June 29, last year, Raj Kumar had followed Asgar Ansari while he was in constant touch with Mishra and another main accused Chhotu Verma, according to Indian Express. Mishra and Verma both had connections with gau rakshak samiti had surrendered to the police on July 3.

They all chose a common point which was notified to them. They met at a spot near Bazar Tand and started beating him and did not stop till he died. They then set his vehicle on fire. Police told Express that the murder of Ansari was well planned. </s> In early April, a mob lynched 55-year-old dairy farmer Pehlu Khan in the western Indian state of Rajasthan. A video of the crime went viral and fanned an emotional political debate.

The killing of Mr. Khan is the sixth fatality since 2015 of a Muslim man subjected to such vigilante “justice.”

 Cow vigilantism, as assaults against those dealing commercially with the animals are called, has become a grim reality in India – with potentially poisonous effects for communal harmony.

The deadly attack against the Muslim Pehlu Khan symbolizes a low point in an escalating cultural war. The perpetrators belong to the extremist rim of the Hindu-Nationalist movement.

According to media reports, they often operate with underhand tolerance of local authorities.

Allegations of impunity undermine the victims’ faith in the impartiality of the state and the rule of law: “A lynching is a majority’s way of telling a minority population that the law cannot protect it,” writes Aatish Taseer in a scathing oped in The New York Times.

While not all vigilante attacks result in the killing of the victim, they are always a matter of life and death for the attacked.

The victims are usually members of the Muslim community — or they are Dalits, Indians who until recently used to be defamed as “untouchables.”

If you consider the cow a normal animal

Unlike India’s majority Hindu population, these people consider the cow a normal animal and beef a comparatively inexpensive source of proteins.

Muslims and Dalits play an important role in India’s booming meat industry. A little known fact: The country is the biggest exporter of beef in the world.

India’s main export markets for buffalo meat are the Middle East and South East Asia. Muslims and Dalits are an indispensable workforce in the country’s slaughter houses and the meat-processing industry.

Others earn a living transporting the animals from one part of the country to the other. Because some Indian states prohibit their slaughter, this forces the meat industry to move the cattle around.

Thus, some highways have become operating fields for cow vigilantes and truck drivers transporting the cattle are easy prey for the self- proclaimed guardians of virtue.

The lynching of Pehlu Khan stands as a stark symbol of polarization in India’s society.

India as a nation seems split between supporters of a secular order — for whom religion is secondary and what you eat (or drink) is a private matter – and those who are the followers of Hindu-Nationalism. For them, religion and cultural traditions are the be-all and end-all.

The political face of this popular movement is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With him as their figurehead, the party aims to secure political power for years to come.

Strong results at recent regional and local elections indicate that this plan has a solid political grounding.

The focus of the prime minister and his team is mainly political. However, the commitment for the cow is proof that culture and religion take center stage in the BJP’s long-term strategy.

Critics of the BJP, whose commentaries reflect an open-minded intellectual minority in the English-language press, talk of the BJP’s stance as a dangerous form of “majoritarianism.”

Meat bans are just one, but arguably the most symbol-laden example of the illiberal outburst.

In many societies, cultural and religious traditions determine what is put on the dinner table and what not. Arguably, in no other country eating habits are as politicized as in India today.

The killing of Pehlu Khan happened just a few days after a political earthquake rocked the country when Mr. Modi’s party scored a landslide victory in the Assembly elections of Uttar Pradesh and installed a radical Hindu priest to be the state’s chief minister.

The new chief minister, Yogi Adityanath, had gained national prominence with a series of anti-Muslim diatribes. For many liberally minded Indians and members of minorities, the Yogi’s elevation is a provocation.

Once in office, the new chief minister lost little time for his campaign against the meat industry. According to media reports, of 41 meat processing and export units in Uttar Pradesh, 17 have been shut after the new government came to power.

And 30,000 workers have lost their jobs. Officially, the clampdown targeted only illegal slaughterhouses, but at least the timing of the campaign and the rhetoric surrounding it underpin the ideological thrust.

Uttar Pradesh is not alone in its campaign against the meat industry. In a lead commentary titled “Meat Under Attack,” The Times of India bemoans “worrying signs of a rise of food bigotry, cow vigilantism, harassment of legitimate meat businesses and competitive fundamentalism.”

Raman Singh, Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh, India’s tenth largest state, is on record as saying that “those who kill cows will be hanged” in his state.

In the state of Gujarat, where Mr. Modi was the Chief Minister from 2011 to 2014 and where Assembly elections are slated for later this year, the BJP government just amended its cow protection law to introduce life punishment for slaughtering cows.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani explained the motivation for the drastic move in a series of tweets. One of them

 read: “Protection of cows is the single-most important principle towards saving the whole world from both moral and spiritual degradation.” </s> After a Muslim man was killed while transporting beef, the 11 “cow protectors” to blame were sentenced to life in prison.

The incident took place in the Indian state of Jharkhand on the morning of June 29, 2017, The Guardian reports. Alimuddin Ansari was cornered by a mob, allowing the 11 men involved to pull him out of his vehicle.

Ansari was subsequently beaten, and then his car was set on fire.

As the vehicle was engulfed in flames, the mob used pieces of meat to strike the beaten man.

While this horrific incident is shocking, this isn’t the first time a person has been attacked over cows.

Last year, at least 38 of these incidents took place, and at least 10 people were killed. While these cases are fairly common, the latest example of extreme violence in the name of the animal was the first that resulted in a conviction of murder and criminal conspiracy charges.

The Guardian reports that the people allegedly behind these attacks against Muslims and low-caste-Hindus are affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party. The political group is one of the two major political parties in the country, and it’s the world’s largest party when it comes to primary membership. It’s also the party of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made a speech on the day Ansari died condemning cow “vigilantes.”

“No one has the right to take the law into his or her hands,” the prime minister said. “We belong to a land of non-violence. Violence is not the solution to any problem.”

Despite his words, the country’s police are often accused of turning a blind eye to the problem or even adding more fuel to the fire by actually going after victims of unacceptable violence for illegal slaughter.

In an interview after Ansari’s death, his wife, Mariam Khatun, asked the country to put an end to the bloodshed. Ansari’s son, Shahzad Ansari, also spoke, saying he was happy “the court has taken the right decision.”

“My father was not doing anything wrong,” he said. “Nobody should take the law into their hands.”

Whether or not you agree that animals should not be slaughtered for food, it's clear that this type of violent behavior is not the way to handle it. Hopefully, this conviction will serve as a precedent so others who consider themselves "cow protectors" will think twice before taking part in similar attacks. </s> Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat on Friday increased the punishment for cow slaughter from seven years to life imprisonment as Hindu hardliners push for tougher protections for the holy animal.

Under the stiffened penalties passed by Gujarat's state assembly, anyone caught transporting cows for slaughter could also face up to 10 years in jail.

Cows are considered sacred in Hindu-majority India, and their slaughter is illegal in most states.

“A cow is not an animal. It is symbol of universal life,” Gujarat law minister Pradipsinh Jadeja told the state's assembly.

“Anybody who does not spare the cow, the government will not spare him.”

The amendment still needs the approval of the state governor ─ a formality all but assured ─ before becoming law.

Millions from India's huge minority populations ─ including Muslims, Christians and lower-caste Hindus ─ eat beef, although it is not widely available.

But Modi's ruling right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, which recently won India's largest state Uttar Pradesh in a landslide, has long campaigned for the protection of cows.

The BJP's new chief minister in Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, has launched a crackdown on abattoirs since taking office in March that has ground the state's meat industry to a halt.

Hindu activists have long accused the Muslim-dominated meat industry of covering up the slaughter of cows and passing off the meat as buffalo, which are not revered as holy.

Cow slaughter is a hot-button issue in India, where even rumours of cows being transported can spark murderous reprisals and religious riots.

Squads of “cow protection” vigilantes are known to roam highways inspecting livestock trucks for any trace of the animal.

In 2015 a 50-year-old Muslim man accused of eating beef was dragged from his home in 2015 and beaten to death by a mob. Police later said it was mutton.
An Indian court convicts eleven Hindus of murdering a Muslim man they discovered transporting beef, sentencing them to life. It is the first successful prosecution of cow vigilantism violence in India.