Alleging cow slaughter, mob attacks farmhouse

BENGALURU: Self-proclaimed gau rakshaks on Wednesday afternoon laid siege to a farmhouse on the southern outskirts of Bengaluru and locked up a 69-year-old businessman and his family , alleging that they were slaughtering a cow.
Trapped inside their farmhouse on Jigani Main Road for over an hour, the family members said they sacrificed a bull, not a cow, for Bakrid.Butchers were called to slaughter the animal on their premises. The 100-strong mob attacked the five-acre farm, about 25 km from the heart of the city , around 2pm. The mob vandalized the family's car, bike and other property on the premi ses. Waseem Ahmed, the eldest son of the family, said he had stepped out when the attackers called him.
“When I reached home, the vandals were burying the bull. Police had arrived, but they were in a conversation with the mob. My parents and two brothers had been locked in for over two hours. We were then taken to the jurisdictional Begur police station, where we were made to stay till 11pm. Our phones were taken away ,“ he said. The businessman and two of his sons were arrested and released on bail later on Wednesday night. WWaseem said if anyone had a problem with the slaughter, they should have called police instead of attacking their farmhouse. Police did not act against any member of the mob, which comprised locals, he claimed.
Police recorded the family's statement and are ascertaining whether the family had permission for the slaughter.
Bengaluru Rural SP Amit Singh said they collected samples of the animal to verify its age. “We have taken up a case against the family under the anti-cow slaughter law.“ The police officer said they will investigate if there was any vandalism and take action against the culprits.He claimed the situation is under control and police reached the spot in time.
On Thursday night, Bengaluru rural district police officers got into a huddle with Muslim community leaders to discuss the issue of attack on a farmhouse by anti-cow slaughter vigilantes.
Police earlier summoned the family members to check whether the vigilantes indulged in any vandalism. The businessman's family has alleged that a car, a bike and other property on the farmhouse were damaged, but police didn't bother to stop them.
Though anti-cow slaughter vigilantes are active in coastal Karnataka, this was for the first time that they were targeting a household in the state capital