In another incident of killing in the name of cow protection in Gujarat, a 29-year-old Muslim youth named Mohammad Ayub was attacked by alleged Gau Rakshaks (Cow Vigilantes) and was brutally thrashed to death. It was reported that Ayub’s relatives and community members refused to accept his body until a case of murder under Section 302 was registered against the assailants (Gau Rakshaks), as reported by Sabrang India. Muslims and Dalits thronged in large numbers outside the municipal V.S, Hospital, where the deceased was declared dead.
The incident took place on September 13 when Mohammad Ayyub and Sameer Sheikh were traveling in an Innova car towards Ahmedabad with two calves. However, the 29-year old succumbed to his injuries and Sheikh travelled to Ahmedabad, the gau rakshak mob chased them all of a sudden. It was reported that they pulled them out of the car and thrashed them up. The group rammed into their car near Honest T-junction near Karnavati club in Ahmedabad.
According to the police complaint lodged by Sameer Sheikh, the one who was with Ayub, said that the deceased tried to run away from the attackers but the group chased him and beat him up with sticks and rods. The ambulance was called and Mohammad Ayub was admitted to the civil hospital while Sameer Sheikh was taken to Anandnagar Police Station.
The police had registered two FIRs, the first against Sameer Sheikh and Ayub under the Cow Protection Act and the other against the Cow Vigilantes under Section 307 i.e. Attempt to Murder of the Indian Penal Code. Sameer Sheikh and Mohammad Ayyub and have also noted down the vehicle numbers. The vehicle numbers are GJ27 C9077 and GJ01 CZ 1180 and the names of the cow vigilantes in the first FIR are Janak Ramesh Mistry, Ajay Sagar Rabari and Bharat Nagj Rabari.
Protests led by Local MLA Gyasuddin Shaikh, and Jan Sangharsh Manch member Shamshad Pathan, who is also the advocate of the deceased Ayub Mevati’s family, erupted outside VS Hospital on Saturday following the death of Mohammad Ayyub Mewati, one of the butchers who was brutally thrashed by alleged gau rakshaks near Iskcon crossroads on Tuesday. He died during treatment on Friday. Till Saturday evening, his family refused to take custody of the body. They protested vehemently at VS Hospital in the morning. They said they would not take the body till their demands were not met. Congress MLA Gyasuddin Sheikh said, “Police forced Ayyub’s family to accept his body even when they were protesting. The officials also attacked 32 of us present at the hospital and detained us at the police headquarters in Shahibaug.” Those who were detained including freelance senior journalist, and editor of GUJARAT SIYASAT and yunuskhan, editor of Haq ki Pukar , who were there for coverage of the incident. they argued with the police but police did not budge, Mufti Abdul qayyum and some others from JUH (Arshad group) ,Mufti Rizwan Tarapuri,( All India Milli Council, Gujarat) Advocate Uvesh Malik and many activist were detained.
The protest took place between 10 am and 6 pm on Saturday. Finally, Mewati’s family took custody of the body after the police accepted their conditions. The body was buried in the evening. Similar incidences have been reported from Gujarat where Dalits have been attacked by Gau Rakshaks. These groups are so empowered that they take law into their own hands and beat people to death. A Una Dalit leader Jignesh Mevani on Friday was first arrested by the Gujarat police at Ahmedabad airport for unknown reasons. In an incident that took the state by storm, cow vigilantes thrashed seven Dalits from Mota Samadhiyala village of Una district while they were “skinning” a dead cow on July 11. Violence by self-styled cow protectors have made national headlines since the public flogging of four Dalit men in Gujarat’s Una in July. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also joined the clamour against violence in the name of cow protection last month by calling such attackers “anti-social elements”.