Two Muslim youths were allegedly thrashed and paraded by a mob, led by the head of a cow protection group, on suspicion of cow smuggling in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district this evening, police said.
Dilshad and Shah Rukh were ferrying two cows, bought from a temple priest, to their village when a mob intercepted the truck in Shamli town and attacked them. Anuj Bansal, the head of the cow protection group, has been arrested and search is on for the remaining activists, Superintendent of Police Shlok Kumar told PTI.
According to the FIR, the duo and the priest, who was also in the vehicle, told the attackers that they had bought the cows for rearing, but the accused thrashed the two youths and paraded them in the area. The priest was not attacked.
The police rushed to the spot and rescued the youths who have been taken into custody, the officer said.