Terror of the Gau-Rakshak

Three weeks ago, a 40-second video of a man being thrashed on what looks like a highway went viral. He was wearing a white kurta-pyjama which was torn as a result of repeated blows by 15-odd youngsters. There was blood, there was screaming and there was very little information about what really was happening. 

In the hours since he had died. Pehlu Khan, a resident of Haryana was transporting three cows from Jaipur to Haryana for his house. He'd originally wanted to buy a buffalo but couldn't afford it so settled for the cows. As he was crossing Rajasthan, his truck was stopped and dragged out and thrashed. Days later, he died in hospital. The gathered crowd, all students from nearby places who called them Gau Rakshaks were convinced he was transporting cows for slaughter, no documents were sought, but he was Muslim and very often that's enough in India.

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