On the 23rd of May, another incident to violence and assault between Hindus and Muslims was reported in Uttar Pradesh. In Kathghar police limit of a U.P., village, a Muslim man identified as Mohammed Shakir was allegedly assaulted by a group of men. The group led by Manoj Thakur, who called himself a ‘gau rakshak (cow vigilante,) brutally beat Mohammed Shikar on allegations of carrying (cow) meat.
Manoj Thakur said, “Someone attacked me some days ago, there has been no investigation on it. Yesterday some butchers harassed me, there was no investigation on it. The police do not listen to me. If Manoj Thakur (referring to himself) beats someone up with a stick a few times, it is a sin however when someone tries to take my life then it is not a crime?”
He further expressed his devotion towards cow protection and said, “If the government gives me a force, I will catch the butchers who are slaughtering cows every day.”
After the incident, Mohammed Shakir’s brother registered a first information report (FIR) against Manoj Thakur and his goons. Based on the complaint, the police arrested them and booked them under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)
In addition, the Uttar Pradesh Police also registered a case against Mohammed Shakir under the IPC sections relating to ‘mischief by killing an animal,’ ‘committing an act likely to spread infection,’ and ‘violation of Covid lockdown guidelines.
The Moradabad Superintendent of Police (SP,) Prabhakar Chaudhary said, “We got a video of a meat seller being beaten up and we have filed a case. There are five to six accused who have been named. We are carrying out searches and will arrest them soon.”
It is to be noted, Manoj Thakur, who was a part of the Bharatiya Gauraksha Vahini, was fired from the organization due to several problematic issues. Due to his active involvement in bribery, assaulting people and other issues, the organisation released him from his post of Vice President.
In regard to this, Rakesh Singh Parihar, the National President of the Bhartiya Gauraksha Vahini, said, “Manoj Thakur was thrown out of the Bharatiya Gauraksha Vahini six months ago for engaging in problematic activities. There were several allegations against him of taking money from people. Our local Sangh representatives in Moradabad also told us about this. It seems like now we will have to put out a separate press release saying he is not in the party to avoid further confusion. We keep telling him but he does not listen.”
Meanwhile, the man who led the assault against Mohammed Shakir, Manoj Thakur, has not been arrested yet. Four others have been arrested and two more are on the run. The recent development in the case was confirmed by the Moradabad Police.
