Bihar’s 1st beef vigilantism case has support of BJP leadership, reveals BJP leader

A BJP leader from Bihar said that the recent attack on three persons for allegedly ferrying beef was done by the saffron party.

Patna, August 5: The opposition in Bihar was quick to blame the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the state recently reported the first case of beef vigilantism.

The attack took place in Bihar's Bhojpur district when three men travelling in a truck were targeted by a mob on allegations of ferrying beef.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress stated that as the BJP has come to power in the state recently, so the attack on people in the name of cow protection did not surprise them.

The BJP has recently joined hands with the Janata Dal (United) (JD(U)) to form a fresh government in the state.

Now, a BJP leader from Bihar admitted that the attack was done by the party and the Bajrang Dal workers. Moreover, the top leadership of the saffron party had prior knowledge about the attack.

The BJP leader added that the attack was done to "produce proof" for police to take action against "illegal" meat traders.

"We had been telling the police for some time about an illegal slaughterhouse in the Ranisagar area of Shahpur but they would not listen to us. Now, that the BJP is a part of the state government, our morale has been boosted," Bhuwar Ojha, BJP state executive committee member was quoted as saying by The Indian Express.

Ojha added that Ranisagar and Bagahi, the only Muslim-dominated areas in the Shahpur assembly segment, as "the problem areas". "The BJP's top leaders in Bihar have asked me to ensure that no untoward incident takes place," said Ojha.

"We are not staging any protests today because we hope for some action from police. We should not be protesting against our own government now," added Ojha.

Ojha admitted that he had been kept in the loop by those who blocked the truck. After the attack, supporters of the BJP and the Bajrang Dal staged protests over "police inaction" in tackling illegal meat trade.

The Bihar police arrested four men for allegedly running illegal beef business. Among the four arrested persons, three were those attacked by the mob. The fourth arrested man is allegedly an owner of an illegal slaughterhouse.

"Meat samples from the truck were also sent for laboratory tests," a police official said.

According to the Bihar Preservation and Improvement of Animals Act, 1955, cow and buffalo slaughter is banned in the state.

OneIndia News