Police parade and assault cow slaughter accused in Ujjain, Hindutva groups felicitate officers

Two Muslim men accused of cow slaughter in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain were publicly paraded and assaulted by the police earlier this week, sparking controversy.

Videos of the incident, which took place on Monday, have circulated widely on social media, showing the accused being forced to chant slogans while being hit with a baton.

The two men, identified as 37-year-old Salim Mewati and 23-year-old Aaqib Mewati, were marched through the streets by a group of police personnel. During the parade, they were made to shout, “The cow is our mother, the police is our father.” In the footage, an officer is seen striking the accused with a lathi.

Following the incident, members of Hindutva groups, including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal, felicitated the police officers for their actions.

Commenting on the matter, Ujjain Additional Superintendent of Police Guruprasad Parasar downplayed the severity of the incident, stating, “Police did not beat them up like it is being shown. Someone may have hit them once or twice.” He suggested that the media had exaggerated the situation.

According to officials, the accused were apprehended on February 16 near Jaithal village with a sports utility vehicle, a cow, and a calf. Bajrang Dal members reportedly alerted the police, who also recovered knives and other tools allegedly used for slaughtering and skinning animals.

After evading capture, Salim and Aaqib were arrested near Indore on Sunday. A third member of the team remains at large. The men have been booked under the 2004 state law prohibiting cow slaughter.

Ghatia police station in-charge DL Dasoriya claimed that the accused had admitted to slaughtering over 1,000 cows and oxen.

Vinod Sharma, the VHP’s Malwa region chief, confirmed that members of his organisation and the Bajrang Dal had honored the police officers involved. “We usually don’t felicitate in public, but these officers did a commendable job by catching these infamous men involved in cow slaughter,” Sharma stated.

He further defended the police’s treatment of the accused, saying, “The way of punishing may vary, but if the cops have done a good job, we should thank them.”