Mob lynches Muslim man in India

NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — A 35-year-old Muslim man was lynched in eastern India after a mob attacked the vehicle he was travelling in, accusing him of transporting cattle — a recurring trigger for deadly violence against Muslims under India’s cow protection regime.

The attack took place early Wednesday morning in the state of Odisha’s Balasore district, where assailants stopped a pickup van on the road and brutally assaulted both the driver and the passenger, identified as Sk Makandar Mahammad. Mohammad later died from his injuries while undergoing treatment at a government hospital.

A video of the assault, which surfaced on social media and sparked outrage, shows the attackers forcing Mohammad to chant “Jai Shri Ram,” a Hindu religious slogan that has increasingly appeared in incidents of mob violence targeting Muslims in recent years.

According to police, the attackers — identified as five local men — beat the victims with sharp weapons, metal pipes, and knives. While both men were seriously injured, Mohammad succumbed to his wounds hours later.

However, the official response drew immediate criticism. In the initial police complaint, filed by an officer at a local police station, authorities did not mention the assault at all. Instead, the first case was registered against the driver and the vehicle owner under laws related to animal cruelty and cattle slaughter — legal provisions that have frequently been used to criminalize Muslims involved in cattle trade or transport.

That initial police filing described the incident as a traffic accident, claiming the vehicle overturned while being driven rashly and that a cow was found at the scene. The animal was seized and sent to a state-run cattle shelter, while the vehicle was taken into police custody.

Only later, following public pressure and a formal complaint by Mohammad’s brother, did police register a second case acknowledging the mob attack. In this complaint, the family alleged that the van was deliberately intercepted and that Mohammad was assaulted with deadly weapons. Police confirmed that he died during treatment after being taken to hospital by a patrol unit.

The accused have now been charged under India’s criminal law provisions dealing with murder committed by a mob. Authorities say they are investigating whether additional attackers were involved.

Rights advocates say the case reflects a familiar pattern in India, where victims of mob violence — particularly Muslims — are often criminalized first, while perpetrators are addressed only after public outrage. 

Cow protection laws have increasingly become tools for vigilante violence with dozens of Muslims killed in similar attacks over the past decade.

Mohammad’s killing adds to a growing list of lynching cases linked to accusations of cattle transport, raising renewed questions about accountability, policing bias, and the normalization of religious vigilantism in the world’s largest democracy.