Cow vigilantes held after video of attack on shepherd goes viral

A video purportedly showing a shepherd being roughed up allegedly by cow vigilantes in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir went viral on social media, prompting intervention by police which said all the accused were arrested on Sunday.

"Three separate FIRs were registered in Arnas police station including the one related to the beating of Asgar Ahmed of Garhi village and all the accused were arrested," a police official said.

The video showed a police team rushing towards the crowd to save the victim who was lying on the ground.

He said police took cognisance of the video shared on Twitter showing a group of youth roughing up Ahmed in a forest area where he had reportedly gone for grazing his cattle.

"An FIR (first information report) under various sections of IPC (Indian Penal Code) including 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 153A (promoting enmity between different groups) was registered against the accused persons who were arrested," the official said.

Earlier, police said a serious note has been taken against communal acts in the district and assured strict action against the accused.

'Reasi police registered three FIRs in three different incidents in the jurisdiction of Arnas police station and arrested accused persons,' the police said in a statement.

In a case of bestiality, the statement said the accused, a naib-tehsildar, was arrested after a case under Section 377 IPC (unnatural offences) was registered against him in Arnas police station.

Another accused Nasir Ahmad was arrested and booked under Section 295A IPC (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, it said.

The statement requested the general public to help the administration in maintaining peace in the area and warned rumour-mongers from spreading any 'objectionable material' on social media which hurts the sentiments of any other person or persons.

Meanwhile, a prominent citizen Tariq Ahmad Bhat appealed to the people to foil the nefarious designs of the subversive elements by maintaining peace.

"There are some elements who are trying to hurt the communal harmony and brotherhood. We should remain cautious against the machinations of such elements and not fall to their propaganda," he said in a message on social media.

He urged the people not to take the law in their own hands and instead help police in catching the subversive elements in the larger interest of peace and communal harmony.