Grab from a video of the incident, which took place on Friday. The group also got into a violent confrontation with police. (File photo)
A day after a 25 year old pick-up truck driver who was transporting buffalo meat to Gurgaon was beaten up by a group of men, police, after questioning the one person arrested so far, have confirmed that the accused carried out the violence because they suspected the driver was transporting cow meat.
“During questioning, the accused has revealed that his companions and he suspected that the complainant was carrying cow meat in his pick-up truck. They followed the vehicle and tried to stop the driver but, when he didn’t halt his vehicle, the accused, along with his accomplices, surrounded the car and beat up the driver,” said Subhash Boken, PRO of Gurgaon Police.
According to police, the incident occurred around 9.30 am on Friday, when the victim, Lukman, who hails from Nuh, was transporting meat from Ghasera village to a shop near the Jama Masjid in Gurgaon. In his complaint to police, he alleged that, when he reached the red light at Sector 5/6, men seated on “4-5 motorcyles” tried to make him stop his vehicle. He, instead, sped towards the Masjid. On the way, however, the men surrounded his vehicle near the truck market, broke the glass of his truck, and beat him with sticks. They then dumped him in his own vehicle and took him back towards Sohna, where they again stopped the vehicle at Jail mod, Badshahpur, and beat him up. The violence stopped only after a police team arrived at the spot and rescued the victim.
The accused, police officials have stated, also misbehaved with police personnel and broke the windows of the police car.
Videos of the incident that have surfaced on social media confirm these claims as well, with one among them showing a group of men trying to push police personnel to reach the victim, who sits injured inside his pick-up truck. Being unable to reach the victim, one of the accused hurled a stone at the windshield of the vehicle, even as police personnel attempted to control the situation. Another video shows the victim seated cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by a crowd of people, when one person kicks him on the ear.
An FIR had been registered at the Badshahpur police station and one person, identified as 28-year-old Pradeep Yadav, who hails from Dadri and was living on rent in Rajiv Nagar in Gurgaon, was arrested. A Maruti Baleno that was used in the crime has also been seized by police.
“The accused has been produced in court and taken into police remand for further questioning regarding the others involved in this crime. Investigation is underway to nab them and also retrieve the weapons used in the crime,” said the PRO.
“We have arrested one person and have also identified some of the others. Our teams are working to arrest them,” said ACP (Crime) Preet Pal Sangwan.
Commissioner of Police, KK Rao, also said that such incidents will not be tolerated. “People who commit such crimes and create disturbance and a criminal atmosphere will not be spared under any circumstance and strict action will be taken against them promptly as per the rules,” he said.