India: Three Suspects Arrested for Killing Man Suspected of Possessing Beef

A police official in India announced on Saturday that three men have been arrested in the eastern state of Bihar in connection with the death of a Muslim man who was attacked under suspicion of possessing beef. Naseem Qureshi, 56, died last week after being assaulted by a group that suspected him of carrying beef, which local Indian governments restrict the sale and consumption of in certain areas of the country. Cows are considered sacred in Hinduism, and attacks against those suspected of slaughtering them for their meat or hides are recurring, often targeting members of the Muslim minority or individuals from lower castes according to the age-old caste system in Indian society. Hindu extremist groups are calling for a complete ban on cow slaughter across India. Since the rise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist government in 2014, Hindu groups, who have positioned themselves as cow protectors, have begun to enforce laws themselves. Bihar is currently governed by a regional party while Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party represents the opposition in the state. In the recent incident, a police statement to the court reported that more than twenty people surrounded Qureshi and attacked him. The police intervened, but Qureshi died while being transported to the hospital, according to the statement. Ramachandra Tiwari, the head of the Rasulpur police station in Bihar where the crime occurred, stated via phone that three arrests had been made.