Haryana: Five cow vigilantes arrested for killing truck conductor
The Haryana Police on Monday said they have arrested five cow vigilantes for kidnapping and attacking a truck driver and a conductor on suspicion of cow smuggling in Palwal last month, leading to one death.
On 22 February, the accused kidnapped the two on suspicion of 'cow smuggling', beat them up and threw them into a canal in Gurugram’s Sohna, assuming both were dead. The body of Sandeep, the conductor, was fished out from the canal on March 2, eight days after the incident.
Meanwhile, the driver of the truck, Balkishan, managed to swim to safety and lodged a police complaint, according to The Hindu. Following the complaint by Balkishan, police had announced a reward of ₹5,000 each for information about the accused.
Sandeep was from Rajasthan's Ganganagar. The duo were transporting two dairy cattle in a pickup truck from Rajasthan to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh when they lost their way and ran into the accused, who were riding motorcycles.
Highways in Haryana are a hotspot for cow vigilantes who illegally chase vehicles transporting cattle, often leading to fatal incidents. Several cases of mob lynching of Muslims have been reported in the region, overwhelmingly targeting Muslims and Dalits.
