A Muslim man beaten by a mob who accused him of transporting cows for slaughter has died in western India in the latest incidence of violence by Hindu vigilante groups enraged over the treatment of the animal they consider sacred.
Pehlu Khan died of injuries sustained when he and 14 other men were brutally beaten three days earlier in Rajasthan state, police said.
Hindus, who form 80 per cent of India's 1.3 billion population, consider cows to be sacred and for many eating beef is taboo. In many Indian states, the slaughtering of cows and selling of beef is either restricted or banned.
The men had bought the dairy cows at a cattle fair and were taking them home in neighbouring Haryana state when the mob stopped the trucks, pulled out the men and beat them up, said the duty officer at the police control room in Behror town, where Saturday's attack took place.
Indian television channels broadcast video of the men being beaten with sticks and iron rods.
No arrests have been made, the police officer said.
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