Cow slaughter case: Suspect’s brother says he was beaten, thrown in pond; police deny

The brother of cow slaughter suspect has claimed that his brother was physically assaulted and thrown into the pond of Madhopur village in Uttarakhand.

The Uttarakhand Police had earlier claimed that the suspect drowned in a pond while trying to escape evading arrest in Haridwar.

Alauddin, a resident of Sohalpur Gada, in the complaint to Gangnagar police station on August 25, said his cousin Wasim (24) had gone to his sister’s house in Madhopur.

“When he was returning home (on scooty), sub-inspector Sharad Singh, Constable Sunil Saini, Praveen Saini and three other cops stopped him near a graveyard located in Madhopur village. They started beating him and threw him into the pond. They didn’t allow him to come out despite his repeated attempts. Hearing his screams, Sufiyan, Sonu and others tried to save him, but the policemen threatened them to go away, else they would be shot. Action should be taken against the culprit police officials,” he said in his complaint.

Uttarakhand Police, however, are yet to register a first information report (FIR) on his complaint.

Afzaal, the suspect’s cousin brother, further alleged that Wasim’s legs were tied when his body was taken out the pond and his face had injury marks.

“He was beaten mercilessly. When he was about to die, he was thrown into the pond. He screamed for help. When villagers tried to save him, they were threatened that they would be shot if anybody tried to save him,” he said.

Also Read: Assam man running slaughter house hurt in police firing; cops say he attacked first

Afzaal alleged that when Wasim’s body was taken out of the pond, his face had multiple fractures, injuries, and legs were tied with a rope.

“The police have cooked up a story that he was smuggling cow meat to save their personnel. If he was smuggling cow meat, where is the cow meat? It should have been recovered by the police”, he claimed in his complaint.

Denying the allegations, Uttarakhand Police said the suspect Wasim and his family members had faced cow slaughtering cases in the past.

In a statement released, Haridwar Police said the cow protection squad of the Gangnahar police station stopped a suspicious scooter rider in Madhopur village in the early hours of August 25 after the police received inputs of cow meat smuggling.

Police claimed that the rider then left the scooter and fled, and subsequently jumped into the village pond to escape police. The suspect drowned in the pond.

The police in the statement said the family of the suspect and other villagers surrounded them, held them hostage, and abused and assaulted police officials, accusing them of killing the suspect and throwing him into the pond.

The police also said the scooter and meat was stolen from the spot.

Three FIRs have been registered in connection with the case so far. These cases have been registered for allegedly smuggling cow meat, assaulting the police team and sharing posts online that might disturb communal harmony.

Haridwar superintendent of police (rural) Swapn Kishor said, “The suspect and his family have a criminal history. He (Wasim), his brother, uncle and cousins are accused in cow slaughtering cases. In a case registered in 2020 under Uttarakhand Protection of Cow Progeny Act, in which Wasim and his father Nasim are accused. In 2017, a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by some villagers against cow slaughtering by the suspect family. The PIL stated that some villagers are involved in cow slaughtering and blood runs through the drains.”

On allegations of the suspect’s murder by the police, Kishor said, “It is not right to comment on anything. The postmortem report, carried out by a panel of doctors and recorded on video will clear everything.”

The police, however, are yet to find the suspected cow meat and scooter.

The SP said, “The scooty and cow meat are yet to be recovered. They were taken away by villagers at the time of the incident. We are ascertaining the identities of people who have stolen away the meat and scooter, using videographic evidence. The video clearly shows that the sack was full of prohibited meat. It was also found in the scooty. It appeared to be over 50 kg.”

Kishor said they were looking into the allegations of the family in the complaint to police and an FIR will be registered accordingly.