The Crossbill News Desk
In the aftermath of a brutal assault on four Muslim meat traders in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh on May 24, a delegation from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) Uttar Pradesh State Committee visited the city on Wednesday (May 28) to meet the victims and assess the situation.
The delegation, comprising CPI(M) state secretariat members Surendra Singh and Chandrapal Singh, Aligarh district secretary Idris, and senior leaders, met the injured victims undergoing treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Aligarh.
According to the CPI(M), the victims—who were legally transporting buffalo meat—were attacked by self-styled cow vigilantes who falsely accused them of beef smuggling. The attackers allegedly beat the victims with sharp weapons, bricks, sticks, and rods, stripped them, demanded Rs 50,000 in extortion, and set their vehicle ablaze.
“This incident is a targeted, violent act enabled by the prevailing climate of communal impunity. We demanded swift action against the perpetrators,” said a member of the delegation.
CPI(M) leaders condemned the incident as anarchic violence masquerading as cow protection. They announced statewide protests and said the party would submit a memorandum to the government demanding the arrest and punishment of the attackers, proper medical care for the injured, compensation, and safety guarantees for meat traders.
The attack has drawn sharp criticism from several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, and AIMIM.
On May 27, Bhim Army chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Aazad visited the injured men at the hospital and said, “This is not just an attack on law and order, but an organised assault on the livelihoods of Muslims and the poor.”
He added, “The fact that the accused were out of police custody for two days raises serious questions about the functioning of the police.”
Meanwhile, the Aligarh police confirmed that the meat in question was not beef. In a post on X on May 28, police stated that forensic reports had confirmed the meat to be buffalo.
“This is to inform that on 24.05.25, an incident of assault on meat traders took place at Panaithi Sadhu Ashram Road. The police team immediately reached the spot, rescued the victims, and admitted them to the hospital. FIRs from both sides were registered promptly. Four persons involved in the assault were identified and sent to jail. The meat samples were sent to Mathura in a special carrier, and as per the received report, no beef was found. Further legal action is being taken,” Area Officer Atrauli, Mrs. Sarjna Singh, said in a statement.
This is the second time in 15 days that the same group targeted the victims’ vehicle at the same location.
On the morning of May 24, the attackers not only assaulted the traders but also set their vehicle on fire and blocked the Delhi-Kanpur highway for an hour. The victims—identified as Arbaz, Aqeel, Kadim, and Munna Khan, all residents of Atrauli in Aligarh—were reportedly dragged from a police vehicle, stripped, and beaten with sticks, rods, bricks, and sharp weapons.
Disturbing footage of the assault has emerged on social media, showing one of the unconscious victims being pulled out of a police car by members of the mob.
The local police said the four men were rescued and admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where three of them remain in serious condition. Senior Superintendent of Police Amrit Jain confirmed that four accused have been arrested in connection with the attack—three named in the initial complaints and one identified through video evidence.
The accused have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including rioting with deadly weapons, attempt to murder, extortion with death threats, and dacoity.
Despite forensic confirmation that the meat was buffalo, an FIR filed against the victims under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, has not been withdrawn. The FIR, based on a complaint by one Vijay Bajrangi—who has since been arrested—alleged that the vehicle was smuggling beef. The families of the victims have demanded immediate withdrawal of the false charges.
Mohammad Sajid, Aqeel’s brother, called the FIR a tactic to deflect blame from the attackers and criminalise the victims. He said political leaders who visited the families have promised that the fabricated case would be withdrawn.
“The truth is before the whole world and media. They pressed these charges to save themselves. If the government doesn’t drop the fake case by itself then nothing can be more disgusting. It’s a double whammy for us,” Sajid told The Wire.
“We’ve been assured by representatives of various political parties that the false FIR will be dropped.”
The victims’ families said that, despite holding valid licenses and having submitted meat samples to police for verification, the traders were specifically targeted and attacked.
Aqeel’s father, Salim, said their livelihoods have been under threat ever since the BJP government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, came to power in Uttar Pradesh. Sajid further alleged that cow vigilantes have morphed into extortion gangs, acting with impunity due to political patronage.
“This time it (lynching) happened in police presence. He was pulled out of a police car. They are all the same—BJP, RSS, Bajrang Dal,” he said.
The incident has once again highlighted the rising trend of mob violence and religious vigilantism in the state, as calls grow louder for accountability, justice, and protection for minority communities.
The delegation, comprising CPI(M) state secretariat members Surendra Singh and Chandrapal Singh, Aligarh district secretary Idris, and senior leaders, met the injured victims undergoing treatment at Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital in Aligarh.
According to the CPI(M), the victims—who were legally transporting buffalo meat—were attacked by self-styled cow vigilantes who falsely accused them of beef smuggling. The attackers allegedly beat the victims with sharp weapons, bricks, sticks, and rods, stripped them, demanded Rs 50,000 in extortion, and set their vehicle ablaze.
“This incident is a targeted, violent act enabled by the prevailing climate of communal impunity. We demanded swift action against the perpetrators,” said a member of the delegation.
CPI(M) leaders condemned the incident as anarchic violence masquerading as cow protection. They announced statewide protests and said the party would submit a memorandum to the government demanding the arrest and punishment of the attackers, proper medical care for the injured, compensation, and safety guarantees for meat traders.
The attack has drawn sharp criticism from several opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Aam Aadmi Party, and AIMIM.
On May 27, Bhim Army chief and Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Aazad visited the injured men at the hospital and said, “This is not just an attack on law and order, but an organised assault on the livelihoods of Muslims and the poor.”
He added, “The fact that the accused were out of police custody for two days raises serious questions about the functioning of the police.”
Meanwhile, the Aligarh police confirmed that the meat in question was not beef. In a post on X on May 28, police stated that forensic reports had confirmed the meat to be buffalo.
“This is to inform that on 24.05.25, an incident of assault on meat traders took place at Panaithi Sadhu Ashram Road. The police team immediately reached the spot, rescued the victims, and admitted them to the hospital. FIRs from both sides were registered promptly. Four persons involved in the assault were identified and sent to jail. The meat samples were sent to Mathura in a special carrier, and as per the received report, no beef was found. Further legal action is being taken,” Area Officer Atrauli, Mrs. Sarjna Singh, said in a statement.
This is the second time in 15 days that the same group targeted the victims’ vehicle at the same location.
On the morning of May 24, the attackers not only assaulted the traders but also set their vehicle on fire and blocked the Delhi-Kanpur highway for an hour. The victims—identified as Arbaz, Aqeel, Kadim, and Munna Khan, all residents of Atrauli in Aligarh—were reportedly dragged from a police vehicle, stripped, and beaten with sticks, rods, bricks, and sharp weapons.
Disturbing footage of the assault has emerged on social media, showing one of the unconscious victims being pulled out of a police car by members of the mob.
The local police said the four men were rescued and admitted to Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital, where three of them remain in serious condition. Senior Superintendent of Police Amrit Jain confirmed that four accused have been arrested in connection with the attack—three named in the initial complaints and one identified through video evidence.
The accused have been booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including rioting with deadly weapons, attempt to murder, extortion with death threats, and dacoity.
Despite forensic confirmation that the meat was buffalo, an FIR filed against the victims under the Uttar Pradesh Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1955, has not been withdrawn. The FIR, based on a complaint by one Vijay Bajrangi—who has since been arrested—alleged that the vehicle was smuggling beef. The families of the victims have demanded immediate withdrawal of the false charges.
Mohammad Sajid, Aqeel’s brother, called the FIR a tactic to deflect blame from the attackers and criminalise the victims. He said political leaders who visited the families have promised that the fabricated case would be withdrawn.
“The truth is before the whole world and media. They pressed these charges to save themselves. If the government doesn’t drop the fake case by itself then nothing can be more disgusting. It’s a double whammy for us,” Sajid told The Wire.
“We’ve been assured by representatives of various political parties that the false FIR will be dropped.”
The victims’ families said that, despite holding valid licenses and having submitted meat samples to police for verification, the traders were specifically targeted and attacked.
Aqeel’s father, Salim, said their livelihoods have been under threat ever since the BJP government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, came to power in Uttar Pradesh. Sajid further alleged that cow vigilantes have morphed into extortion gangs, acting with impunity due to political patronage.
“This time it (lynching) happened in police presence. He was pulled out of a police car. They are all the same—BJP, RSS, Bajrang Dal,” he said.
The incident has once again highlighted the rising trend of mob violence and religious vigilantism in the state, as calls grow louder for accountability, justice, and protection for minority communities.
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