Kanpur man almost lynched on cow slaughter rumour, cops lodge FIR

A mob beat a man black and blue in Kanpur on March 7, nearly killing him, after he won a gambling game. Unwilling to accept his win, the crowd allegedly attacked him and falsely accused him of cow slaughter to justify their actions, the FIR lodged by the police read.

Sub-inspector Manoj Kumar, currently posted at Cantonment police station, filed the FIR on Monday against 30 individuals, including five named suspects and 25 unidentified persons.

In the FIR, Kumar stated that along with three other sub-inspectors – Kuldeep Singh, Kamlesh Kumar Sharma, and Shubham Tiwari – he was patrolling the area when they received information about alleged cow slaughter near a country liquor shop in Chhabile Purwa village. The team rushed to the location and found a mob brutally assaulting Mehtab Alam, a resident of Jajmau.

The officers rescued Alam and sent him for medical treatment. Police found no evidence of cow slaughter at the scene. Instead, it was revealed that the mob had been engaged in gambling, and the assault occurred after Alam won a bet.

The crowd reportedly spread false claims of cow slaughter to cover up their gambling activity and to stoke communal tensions. Municipal councillor Jitendra Chaurasia, who arrived at the scene with members of the Bajrang Dal after hearing the accusations, claimed to have seen a cow tied in the area and four individuals nearby. However, police investigations found no proof to support these claims.

The named and unnamed people in the FIR have been charged with rioting, voluntarily causing harm, inciting communal hatred, and spreading false information.

ACP Cantonment Shrishti Singh confirmed that several suspects have been detained for questioning, and efforts are underway to apprehend the others involved.