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5 arrested for lynching cattle traders in India

Xinhua, March 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

Five people have been arrested in India's eastern state of Jharkhand for allegedly lynching two cattle traders, officials said Sunday.

The victims including a minor were found hanging from a tree with hands tied behind their backs at Balumath in Latehar district, about 107 km northwest of Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand.

Police officials in the state said they were investigating the matter, suspecting the aim of the attack was to snatch cattle from the traders.

However, media reports said that of the five arrested, one is said to be an activist of a cow protection group.

"Mithilesh Sahu is with local cow vigilantes, but no direct involvement of any outfit with the lynching has surfaced so far," a local newspaper Times of India quoted Anoop Birthary, a senior police official at Latehar as having said.

Authorities have put in place a prohibitory order under Section 144 (government order) in the district city as a "precautionary" measure. The order prohibits assembly of more than four persons in public places.

The lynching of cattle traders however is seen as part of a brutal campaign against the slaughter of cows in India and consumption of beef.

Relatives of the victims told media that the duo were taking buffaloes to a market when they were attacked. Endit