India: Muslim attacked for allegedly selling beef

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - A Muslim man was attacked by a group of Hindus in India’s eastern state of Assam over the weekend for allegedly selling beef, according to media reports Monday.

The attack on Shaukat Ali took place at a market in Biswanath district.

In a video that surfaced on social media, Ali was seen kneeling down and being attacked by a group of men and questioned about his identity.

Biswanath district police superintendent Rakesh Roshan said the police had registered a report after receiving a complaint from Ali that he was assaulted, called a Bangladeshi and forced to eat pork, said a report in the Hindustan Times.

According to the news website Scroll.in, Assam has a complex and somewhat ambiguous law on cattle slaughter.

The Assam Cattle Preservation Act of 1950 allows the slaughter of cattle over 14 years of age or those incapable of work or for use in breeding. The law stipulates that such cattle will be given a “fit-for-slaughter certificate” by a doctor of the state husbandry and animal welfare department.

Unlike many other Indian states, the law in Assam does not distinguish between buffaloes and cows or bulls.