Elderly man assaulted over flase cow meat accusation, three aspiring cops arrested
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Three men, aspiring to join the police force, were arrested for allegedly assaulting a 72-year-old man on a train in Maharashtra after falsely accusing him of carrying cow meat.
The incident occurred on August 28 when the elderly man was traveling on the Dhule-CSMT Express to visit his daughter in Kalyan.
The three men, identified as Akash Awhad (30), Nitesh Ahire (30), and Jayesh Mohite (21), were on their way to Mumbai to take a police recruitment test when they allegedly attacked the elderly passenger. They were arrested on August 31 but were released on bail the next day, as the Government Railway Police did not file non-bailable charges against them.
According to the elderly man's complaint, which he filed after being persuaded by the police, the incident began when he was asked by one of the men to share his seat. When the senior citizen remarked that there was no space for another person, the situation escalated.
As he prepared to get off the train at Kalyan station, the group of men prevented him from disembarking, began abusing him, and demanded to see what he was carrying. Upon discovering two plastic jars of raw buffalo meat, the men falsely accused him of carrying beef and started assaulting him.
The police confirmed that the man was carrying buffalo meat, which is legal in Maharashtra.
The attackers reportedly filmed the incident and shared the video on social media, where one of them was heard mentioning that they would contact Bajrang Dal activists.
After the video went viral, the police located the elderly man and convinced him to file a complaint. An FIR was registered, and the accused were charged under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those related to unlawful assembly, rioting, wrongful restraint, causing hurt, criminal intimidation, and intentional insult.
The accused were apprehended in Dhule after returning from Mumbai following their police recruitment test. The police are also working to identify other members of the group involved in the assault.
