Madhya Pradesh: Three thrashed for carrying ‘beef’, arrested

On Friday, after a video clip of the incident was circulated on social media and a relative of one of the three persons filed a complaint at the Dunda Seoni police station, police arrested the five suspected gau rakshaks — Shubham Baghel, Yogesh Uikey, Deepesh Namdev, Rohit Yadav and Shyam Dehria. The five were sent to judicial custody on Saturday.

Identifying themselves as members of Shriram Sena, Baghel, a habitual offender, had shared the video clip on his Facebook page a day after the assault, but later deleted it. He had earlier posted a photograph of himself with newly elected Bhopal MP Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur on his Facebook page.

A member of Thakur’s team said she did not know Baghel.

The five accused have been booked under various sections of the IPC including 143 (unlawful assembly), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 341 (wrongful restraint), 294 (obscene acts), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) as well as under the Arms Act.

Seoni SP Lalit Shakyawar said prime facie, the meat seized from the trio was suspected to be beef, but it has been sent to a laboratory in Hyderabad. He said the police were busy with counting preparations when the incident occurred. He said the trio did not complain to the police, and the police took action once the FIR was registered. He said one more accused is yet to be nabbed.

Dunda Seoni police station in-charge, Inspector Ganpat Uikey, told The Sunday Express that Baghel faced many criminal cases and had been externed from the district last year.

Uikey said the Muslim man and woman were not related to each other. He claimed none of them sustained serious injuries. They were taken to a government hospital for medical examination and later produced before a local court, which sent them to judicial custody.